The Last Resort's Special Guest
by Arogustus
Summary: Luigi's Mansion 3 spoilers. It's been a month since the events of the game and things are not looking good for the Last Resort. However, the announcement of a celebrity guest coming to stay is sure to help fix their reputation! But the guest seems shifty. Almost as if he's more than he seems...
1. Prologue

**So… I guess I'm doing this? **

**Let me just say, I absolutely adore Luigi's Mansion 3, and I absolutely adore the boss ghosts! And since not many people are making fanfics about these lovable characters, it looks like it's up to me to save the day!**

**I would like to thank both BurningFox6 on Fanfiction and evils-corner on Tumblr for providing some of the headcanons I will be using in this story. Go check out the story Boo-ographies by BurningFox6, along with evils-corner tumblr to see the headcanons I'm using.**

**Anyway, buckle up and enjoy the show folks! **

**Also, I don't own the Luigi's Mansion series. That's Nintendo's property.**

**Also, spoilers for Luigi's Mansion 3, obviously.**

* * *

It had been a full month since the night Hellen and King Boo had staged their plot to kidnap Luigi. The hotel had been rebuilt; the staff released, and the building reopened, ready to welcome new guests to the new and improved building!

That would have been the case if word hadn't gotten out about what had happened.

Turns out, being complicit in the kidnapping of an authority figure and two beloved members of the community ended up resulting in the reputation of the hotel taking a nasty dive downwards. Princess Peach did her best to help mitigate the negative press by giving their side of the story and even giving the hotel a glowing five star review! But it wasn't enough. Now the profit margins were in the red, and E. Gadd was considering closing the place down for good. This fact weighed heavily on Steward's mind as he sat at the reception desk, hoping desperately for someone to call and make a reservation.

"Hey, Stewy!" Kruller shouted as he floated over to the bellhop, a box of donuts in hand. "Soulfflé made donuts today. I got you your favorite, chocolate with sprinkles." He waved said donut in front of Stewards face, to absolutely no reaction. Kruller, taking note of his boyfriend's depression, sat next to him. "You sad because we have no visitors?"

"You have no idea." He complained, snuggling closer to Kruller. "We haven't had any new visitors in weeks ever since Dr Potter's plants ate that Toad!"

* * *

"And that is what you get when you litter in my greenhouse!" Dr. Potter yelled at a purple Toad who was currently being chewed up by one of Potter's many carnivorous plants. The Toad could only scream in terror, regretting failing to throw that chip bag into the trash can like a cool guy.

* * *

"This is all Hellen's fault!" Steward suddenly shouted, startling Kruller. "She just _had_ to go through with another one of her crazy plans _and _she had to drag us into it! And now we're all gonna lose our jobs and we're gonna lose our home and there's nothing we can do about it!" Steward started to cry into Kruller's shoulder, the security guard comforting the bellhop as he bawled his eyes out.

"There, there, Stewy. Don't give up hope. We could get lucky and have, like, some super famous guy call right now and ask for the penthouse suite!" Kruller tried to cheer him up. It seemed to work, as Steward got up and wiped away some snot with the sleeve of his shirt.

"Snf... That only works in movies, Kruller. But thanks."

"Hey, as long as we all stick together, we'll be alright. Our luck is bound to change at some point."

As if some kind of cosmic entity had heard Kruller, the reception phone started to ring. Steward composed himself, preparing to take the phone call. He took a quick look at Kruller to see him give two thumbs up of encouragement. He picked up the receiver, took a deep breath and greeted the caller. "Hello! This is the Last Resort! You'll enjoy your stay so much you'll wish you could die here! How can I help you today?" Steward nodded along to the caller's mumbling, his face going from 'customer service smile' to genuine happiness. "Why yes, we do have a penthouse suite." More mumbling. "Next week? Absolutely sir!" Even more mumbling. "Yes sir! We will have everything ready for you then. Have a good day." The caller hung up and Steward set the phone down, a neutral expression on his face.

…

"EEEEEEEEEHHHHHHH!" He squealed in excitement, startling poor Kruller again as he hugged him in excitement. "Oh my goodness, you were right Krulls! You were so, so right!"

"I was? That's new. Who's the guest?"

Steward started chuckling. "Oh ho ho, that is the part you are going to love, Krulls." He whispered the name into Kruller's ear, and his face morphed from a face of curiosity to pure excitement.

They had a chance now. A chance to save the Last Resort.

* * *

**Special thanks to BurningFox6 and evils-corner for beta reading this.  
On the next: A staff meeting is held to anounce the good news!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Announcement

**AN: Luigi's Mansion 3 is owned by Nintendo**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The announcement**

One of the many amenities E. Gadd had added to the new hotel was the addition of a fully-fledged food court. The Mezzanine was reserved for the V.I.P. guests, so the regular guests and the staff would go here to eat and mingle with each other. Sure, they were ghosts, and therefore exempt from some of the standard needs of the living, but hey, food was delicious.

Right now, however, there was no mingling or eating going on around here. Just a DJ and a film director moping about their plight.

"Oh, to think it would all end like this! I, Morty, being forced to watch and wait as my home is drained of life! Without visitors to sustain this business, my film studio will be closed for good, never to have a movie made in its clutches ever again!" The director said in the most melancholically dramatic voice possible, bemoaning the future loss of his studio in his usual, dramatic way. "Oh, how will I live my undeath! Will I be forced to beg for money on the streets like a vagabond who has had every opportunity at success ripped from their bare hands?!"

"I get what ya mean." Morty's partner in moping, the funkadelic DJ Phantasmagloria (or just Gloria as her friends normally called her), said, her usually cheery demeanor having been replaced with one of gloom. "If I lose my job, I'll go from "DJ Phantasmagloria, the undead disco queen!" to "Gloria, the jobless nobody". She slumped over in defeat onto the table. "I never should 'a dropped out of college."

The two ghosts sighed, wondering what they would do with their lives when the hotel closed down for good. A shout from across the food court would shake them out of their gloom, however.

"Guuuys! Guuuys!" The portly security guard Kruller crashed into the table, not hard enough to knock it over, but definitely hard enough to stun him for a few seconds. Gloria and Morty reached out to him, hoisting him up and setting him down on a chair as he struggled to regain his breathe. "Guh… gimme a sec… gasp!"

"Deep breathes, Kruller, deep breaths." Gloria instructed him. "What's got you in such a rush anyway?"

"Indeed. You normally don't move this fast unless someone has stolen something from the gift shop, or when Soulfflé gives out free samples for us to taste." Morty added to Gloria's inquiry. Kruller raised a finger at them, reminding them of his current state. After a few deep breathes, he was well enough to answer the question.

"Ok, I'm good now. Anyway, you guys will not believe the news I got for you!" He got off from his chair and floated before the two. "Ok, first things first, which famous actor died on October 24th of 2011?"

Morty and Gloria stared at each other in confusion. Morty decided to answer the question, given his vast knowledge of all things's cinema. "That would be Ghoulanu Graves. He died during a stunt gone wrong when his safety harness malfunctioned, and he fell of a building while they were filming "John Wicker". Why is that important?"

"Guess who's staying at this hotel in one week."

Morty's eyes widened, realizing immediately why Kruller was so excited. Gloria, on the other hand…

"So, who is it? Come on, man, don't leave me hanging." The guard and director could only stare at the DJ, the former counting down on his fingers while the latter tried to coax her into realizing the answer. Once Kruller reached zero, the realization dawned on her. "Oh. My. God! He's staying here?!"

"Yup, he ordered the penthouse suite and he's gonna stay for the weekend." Kruller and Gloria squealed in excitement, holding each other's hands like two teenage girls who had just found out their celebrity crush was coming to their town.

"Amazing! To think such a famous actor would come to our hotel after what happened. It would be the highest of honors to have him grace my movie studio with his presence." Morty said aloud, his mind racing with potential movie ideas he could pitch to the man.

"And do you guys know what else this means?" Kruller asked the two after calming himself down.

"Nope."

"I have a hunch, but I feel like we should be announcing this to the others."

"Stewards already gathering everyone for a meeting in the bosses office. He'll explain everything." The trio darted off towards the elevator, awaiting the good news that Steward would be announcing.

* * *

E. Gadd's floor, which was located at the very top of the building was where the good(?) professor resided. It contained not only an office where he would hold meetings with the staff and manage the hotel's finances, but also a research lab where he would study up on the ghosts that he and Luigi had captured in their line of work. Granted the lab wasn't finished yet, but it was well on its way of being completed. He just needed to grab some equipment he had left in Evershade Valley to finish.

Inside E. Gadd's office, the staff of the Last Resort had gathered together, sitting on the folding chairs the professor had set up for the meeting. They were all talking with each other, either wondering what the announcement was, or complaining about how it cut into their free time. The only ghosts not here where Ug, who almost always stayed in the museum, and Serpci, who E. Gadd barred from the meetings on account of not being a member of staff. They all stopped talking when E. Gadd cleared his throat, gaining their attention.

"Attention everyone, Steward here has an announcement that he claims is of utmost importance. If you would explain to us what it is." Steward floated over to the front of the professor's desk, facing the staff as he cleared his throat.

"Ok everyone, hold on to your hats, because we have a very special guest coming over to stay at our hotel." The rest of the staff immediately grew interested in the news. Gloria, Morty and Kruller, meanwhile, were doing their best to contain their excitement. "And this guest is none other than the movie actor Ghoulanu Graves!"

Chambrea and the triplets all squealed in delight; Clem's hat actually flew off his head, and Johhny Deepend spat out whatever he was drinking out of his mouth… right into Amadeus' face. The older ghosts were more confused than anything, with Macfrights and Fishook scratching their heads, Potter and Soulfflé staring at each other in confusion, and Wolfgeist barely containing his anger at Johnny. The pianist simply took a deep, deep breathe, and asked a question. "Who is this person and _why_ is he so important _you_ have to spit all over me?" That question was clearly for Johnny.

"Dude, Ghoulanu is, like, the ultimate actor. Guys got a mega huge fanbase." Johnny did not bother apologizing to the pianist, simply settling with answering his question. "Dudes got movie directors begging him to show up in their movies."

"Yeah!" One of the triplets, specifically the ponytailed leader, Lindsey, piped up. "I heard that he turned down a role in a huge superhero movie so he could star as an actual tumbleweed in a kid's film!"

"Plus, he showed up in that game convention Ah saw on the puter once. He called everyone breathtaking." Clem said, taking off his hat and holding it to his chest. "that really touched ma heart right there, and Ah wasn't even in da audience!"

"That sounds all well and good. I definitely look forward to interviewing a celebrity ghost." E. Gadd showed his interest, already running ideas in his head as to what he could do with a celebrity ghost. "But why do you believe he's so important, Steward?"

Steward simply nodded at Kruller, who quickly floated off his seat and to the front of the group. "He thinks it's important because Ghoulanu has a _huge _social media following. His fans will listen to anything he posts on the internet, which means…"

The answer finally dawned on Gloria. "Oh! That means that if he gives us a good review online, people will start to come to the hotel again?" Kruller gave her a thumbs up. "Yes! Nailed it!"

"But not even ze princess could help our reputation. How is zat going to help?" Chef Soulfflé asked.

"You don't understand, Soulfflé. Celebrities have a huge influence on the masses. I bought a new feather duster just because my favorite actress liked an ad of it on Screecher." Chambrea answered. Some of them were still not convinced, though.

"Are ya sure that will work, boyo? Not even the princess could get people to come here." Captain Fishook asked.

"Hmmmmm, that does seem feasible. Studies have shown that products endorsed by popular people sell better than those promoted normally. Why I even had Luigi star in a commercial for my Virtual Boo. The sales on it skyrocketed in less than a day." Professor E. Gadd's observation seemed to finally put the ghosts doubt to rest. They all began to chatter excitedly, brainstorming ideas on how they could entertain their guest. The professor got their attention with a clap of his hands. "Thank you, Steward for the good news, you may take a seat now." Once Steward sat down next to Kruller, E. Gadd started giving out orders. "Since this guest is the only thing standing between the hotel's success and its potential closure, I need you all to be at your best behavior's. You all know what your roles are, so make sure to perform them to the best of your abilities. Chambrea, when the meeting is over, go prepare the penthouse suite with the goobs. And make sure that Ug knows what's going on." Chambrea gave a salute to the professor. "Kruller, Johnny, you two seem to know a lot about this Ghoulanu fellow. Make sure to advice the others on what he would find the most enjoyable."

"Sir, yes sir!"

"No problem, boss man."

"As for the rest of you, I feel like I don't need to give you anymore instructions other than being on your best behavior. You may all leave now. Remember, we have one week until the guest arrives." The staff all began to float off towards their respective floors. They were definitely in a far better mood than when they came in, that's for sure.

Next weekend was going to be very eventful.

* * *

**AN: Once more, thank you BurningFox6 and evils-corner for there aid.**

**Next chapter, the staff prepare themselves and the hotel.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Preparations

**Chapter 2: The Preparations**

**... I have a good explanation for why this is late.**

**College**

**Ok, that should be a good enough explanation. Plus, since I'm in break, I can write the next chapter faster. So Yay!**

**Luigi's Mansion 3 is not owned by me. It's owned by Nintendo and Next Level Games.**

* * *

The hotel was buzzing with activity as goobs floated about carrying cleaning supplies and the like across the many floors of the hotel. The building had to be in tip top shape for their undead guest. Sure, most ghosts find wear and tear in their buildings to be very appealing, but since their guest was on the younger side of being dead, they had to actually fix up the suite to make it look appealing for once.

"So, Chambrea, got any juicy gossip ta spill today?" Clem asked the maid ghost while he was fixing up the bathroom sink. The ghostly maid had a pensive look on her face as she thought about what she could spill.

"Hmmmm, I remember hearing in the news about how someone broke into Mr. Graves house last week. Nothing was taken, but the robber never showed up on security footage." She leaned in closer to whisper into Clem's ear. "Personally, I think it's his ex-girlfriend who's trying to make him go crazy."

"Didn't they break up on good terms or somethin?"

"You know how celebrity relationships are like, you think they part ways amicably, then suddenly you hear that one tried to stab the other in a jealous rage." As she mopped the floor of the bathroom, she noticed a rubber ducky hiding in the tub. But just not any rubber duck. "Clem? Is that Jennifer?"

"Yup." Clem pulled out the ducky from the tub. The duck was dressed in regal clothing, consisting of a tiara, a necklace, earrings and even a blue dress. "Since our guest is on the influential side, Ah decided that he deserved the rarest of all rubber ducks. Ah actually died fer this thing, did ya know that?"

"But she's your most prized ducky. Are you sure she'll be alright?"

"Of course. This Ghoulanu fella is a nice guy, so he should know how ta treat a dame with respect. Sides, Ah ain't allowed in the hotel while he's here, so I'm leaving her around so that she'll tell all the juicy facts. Ain't that right, Jenny?"

"…" Jennifer responded with nothing, for obvious reasons.

"Heh, classic Jenny." The two resumed fixing up the bathroom, Jennifer going back to her place in the tub; Clem finishing up repairing the sink, and Chambrea deciding to leave getting Clem a therapist for a later date as she continued to mop the floor.

* * *

Chef Soulfflé was in a bad mood. Sure, his kitchen was in great condition; the goobs were doing their jobs well, and absolutely no food had been dropped on the floor. No, the real problem was the musclebound idiot invading _his_ personal space!

"Oh yeah, and make sure that your food doesn't have too many carbs in them. Celebrities like him need to keep their bodies in perfect shape, otherwise they get all fat. Not that there's anything wrong with being fat, they just got an image they gotta keep up. Kinda like with me and my," Johnny flexed his muscles in front of the more than annoyed ghost chef. "awesome muscles."

"Ok, that's good. Now please get ze hell out of _my kitchen_!" He pointed his frying pan threateningly at Johnny. Unfortunately for him, Johnny was not the least bit intimidated as he slung his arm over the chef's shoulder.

"Nah, dude, I gotta keep an eye on you. You heard what the prof said, we all gotta be on our best behavior. You got a bit of a temper on ya, so I'm taking time off from my exercise regime so I can help you out and make sure you don't mess things up for us. No need to thank me." Johnny chuckled and took note of Soulfflé's irritated stare. It finally dawned on him what the chef was mad about. "Wait, now I get why you're mad at me!... You don't think I can cook!" He patted the chef's shoulder reassuringly. "No worries bro, I might not look like it, but I'm actually a pretty decent cook. I'm a fast learner too, so we'll get through any problems we face in the kitchen in no time."

Soulfflé could only sigh in defeat, realizing that there was no possible way to get the muscle-bound ghost out of his kitchen. "Fine, grab a frying pan. Drop any food, however, and your face will meet my pans hot bottom."

* * *

"Alright girls!" Lindsey said to her sisters. They were all sitting in their dressing room, planning out their performance for the new guest. "To recap: Nikki is gonna start us of with her "Wallet of Illusion" trick. Ginny, make sure to be ready when Nikki has the mustache on to pull of the switcheroo."

"You can count on me, sis!" Ginny gave a mock salute while Nikki was less than enthused about the plan.

"You better not mess it up like last time, Ginny!"

"Hey, that was one time! I said I was sorry?!"

"Focus, girls! Anyway, after that I will go next and pull the guest himself out of my hat. Then, Ginny will do her sword throwing routine,"

"While blindfolded."

"Yes, while blindfolded, and for the grand finale, we will be doing the "Davy Jones Experience". Remember, I set up the illusion, Nikki keeps the guys focus while Ginny gets everything else ready. Understood?"

"Yup"

"Crystal."

"Alright." Lindsey clapped her hands together, entering full schemer mode. "Now I know we are all a little wound up, so let's go prank Mister Wolfgeist again to unwind. Any ideas?"

"Like you even have to ask. We pour jell-o into his piano. Duh." Nikki offered.

"Mmmm, ok, but let's not put too much into it. You know he's still angry after we replaced all of his hair gel with ketchup sauce." Ginny pointed out.

"Eh, he'll be fine."

The triplets flocked towards the toilet and pulled the handle. A few seconds after, Clem popped out of the toilet, arms crossed as if he were a genie of the lamp.

"Ya'll need ma wisdom?"

* * *

Amadeus considered the musical sheets in front of him, wondering what he should play on the big day of the guests' arrival. Yes, he had written many a great composition in his career, when alive and when dead, but finding the perfect one was always such a hassle. Sighing to himself, he looked at his auditorium, spotting the disc jockey and his musical rival, Gloria, putting her headphones on the head of the self-proclaimed pharaoh queen of the sands, Serpci, who looked very nervous at the moment.

"Alright babe, tell me what ya think of this." She turned on the little device attached to the headphones, and he could immediately see Serpci's reaction. Being a rather ancient ghost that hadn't fully adapted to the new music of the modern era, her expression was that of someone desperately trying to pretend they were enjoying something they really didn't.

And there she went again, with that "please help me" look she usually gave him whenever her girlfriend insisted, she listened to her music while in his auditorium. It was honestly kind of sad, if a little bit funny. Oh well, might as well stomp two goombas with one jump and divert Gloria's attention.

"Miss Gloria, would you mind giving me a hand with this?" The DJ noted his request, turning towards the pharaoh to tell her to wait for her as she flew over towards Wolfgeist's piano. Serpci herself took the chance to grab the device and desperately try to figure out how to turn the damn thing off, which earned a chuckle out of the pianist. Oh, how he enjoyed seeing people squirm.

"Whatcha need?" Gloria asked the pianist, leaning on the piano and ignoring Amadeus' small glare at her rudeness.

"I'd like your opinion on something. What would you find would be best to play, something from Boothoven's composition list, or one of my older pieces?"

"Why would you want to play someone else's piece?"

"Well it would be rather remiss of me to ignore someone who is my superior in the musical arts."

The two musicians stared at each other for a few seconds, only to burst out into uproarious laughter. The pianist wiped a single tear from his eye as he composed himself. "Ah, but really, do you have any advice?"

"Eh, I'd say go for "Dark Moon Sonata". It's got pep, and we wanna entertain our guest instead of boring him to sleep."

Wollfgeist glared at the DJ. "Not unless your mindless cacophony of noise you call music ends up scaring him off." Gloria glared back at him, only to gain a malicious smile on her face.

"You wanna bet on that, old man?" She took the pianists quirked eyebrow as a yes. "Dr. E set up a new review website last week. Apparently, people can give their individual opinion on each separate floor now. My bet is simple, the person whose floor gets the best review compared to the other gets to watch as the loser has to write and present an essay about how the winner's music is better than the loser's." She offered her hand to Amadeus. "Sound like a deal?"

The pianist considered the offer. Getting his musical rival to boast about how his music was better than hers was tempting. And having her do it in front of the rest of the staff was just the cherry on top. Although was he willing to take the risk? He would never admit it to her face, but her music did seem to be appealing to the modern people. Should he accept?

Amadeus took one long look at the DJ's outstretched hand…

And he grasped it, sealing the deal made by the DJ. "You have yourself a deal. May the best musician, which is clearly me, win"

"Oh, it's on old man." She floated back towards the seats and grabbed Serpci's arm, dragging her towards the exit. "Come on, babe. I need ya to help me test some good mixes."

* * *

"So you're sure he won't beat me- I mean beat us up on sight?" Steward trembled as he and Chambrea stood in front of a particular exhibit: a cavern adorned with cave paintings that housed the resident caveghost, Ug. Chambrea simply chuckled as she casually floated into the cavern, a trembling bellhop in tow.

"You worry too much, Steward. I've been helping him out with his anger issues ever since the hotel was rebuilt. He's been making great improvements ever since. So trust me, he won't do anything to us."

Steward was most definitely not reassured by this.

At the very end of the display, surrounded by crudely drawn "keep away" signs on the walls, was the makeshift bedroom of Ug. The titular caveghost was asleep on a stone slab, ignorant of the two having entered his sleeping space.

Steward stared at the caveghosts sleeping form, fear noticeable in his expression. Ug was known amongst the staff for having a nasty temper, second only to Wolfgeist. He could still remember the goobs screaming in terror when he first woke up. At least he wasn't awake right now.

"Wakey, wakey, Ug!"

Chambrea ignored Steward's withering glare as the caveghost stirred from his nap, grumbling to himself as he got off the stone slab he called a bed. He looked around his room until he spotted the bellhop and maid, the former flinching in fear and hiding behind the latter, who gave him a cheerful smile.

"Good morning, Ug. I have some big news I want you to hear." Ug simply lumbered over towards the two, giving no indication of having heard the maid. He gave the two a once over, before, to the surprise of Steward, talking to them.

"Hello, clean lady. Hello, skinny man."

"Hello to you too, Ug. Steward has a favor to ask of you." The maid casually pushed the bellhop forward. She ignored the glare he gave her, mouthing the words "he needs practice" to him. Steward turned towards Ug, gulping in air as he adjusted his bowtie, clearly not being confident in not angering the caveghost that was now staring at him intently.

"Um, well, Mr. Ug. We have someone coming over here that will be making sure we don't lose our home. So, uuuhhhh, we would all really appreciate if you didn't leave the cave when he arrives. We promise to make it worth your while sir, so please don't crush me into paste!" Steward curled up into himself, dreading the caveghost losing his temper and taking it out on him. The pain never came, however. Slightly opening his eyes, he was baffled as he saw Ug… contemplate the offer.

"Hmmmm… Ok. But Ug have demand."

Steward stared at the caveghost for a few seconds before realizing what he had said. He was actually asking him something! That was something he was used to! "Yes, sir! What is it that you want?"

"Food." Ug bellowed, slapping his stomach with vigor. "Ug smell good food. But Ug only get leftovers. Ug want real food!"

The caveghost had a point. They usually appeased him with the leftovers of their meals and those of the guests. They never really knew he actually wanted the regular food, given the fact he never actually spoke English until now. Regardless of the fact, Steward put on his best "customer service" smile, agreeing to the demand.

"No problem, sir. We'll make sure to send in regular meals to your room from now on!"

"Thank you."

Steward turned to Chambrea and gave her a high five for a negotiation well done. They did not notice Ug float out of the cave, however. The scream of terror from several goobs and the sound of someone breaking one of the displays was harder to ignore. They both immediately rushed out of Ug's room to mitigate the damages.

Chambrea made a mental note to teach Ug that the displays were not actual dinosaurs intruding in his territory.

* * *

A pharaoh, a Scottish king and a shark pirate were sitting in the hotel bar, drinking and chatting with each other as they usually did in weekends. The oozer who was serving them their drinks was floating behind the counter, definitely doing his job and not writing down what the ghosts were talking about to share with his gossip club. Definitely not that.

"I'm tellin ya, lass. Ya gotta talk to her about it, otherwise yer just gonna be sufferin whenever she asks ya to test out her music."

"Don't tell me how to work my relationships, Fishook. I would rather spend an eternity wandering _Duat_ than hurt my beloved's feelings." Serpci glared at Fishook. "Now could we please move on from my personal life and onto some more important matters?"

"Yes, we should change ta more important topics." Macfrights piped up. "Like talking about what I'll be doin on the day of the guests stay."

Once he saw the other two put their attention on him, he started to explain. "You see, back when I was alive, there was this trick I used ta perform when it came ta dealing with invading armies." He floated high up into the air, waving his arms around in an attempt to give visuals of his stunt. "I would get on my horse and ride full speed towards the invaders. Then, at the proper distance, I would get my horse ta stop suddenly and buck me off, sendin me flying off into the air! I would pull out ma sword, and in one fell swoop, I would land on top of their leader, stabbing em right in the head and downin him in one hit!" He posed in the air and looked at his fellow drinking buddies, trying to gouge their reactions to see how impressed they were by his incredibleness.

He was met with looks of disbelief from the pharaoh and the pirate.

"That sounds impossible."

"And very impractical. Ya sure ya weren't drunk when that happened and ya just ran into the fella and stabbed him by accident?"

Macfrights glared at the shark, but instead of losing his temper as he usually did whenever someone questioned his achievements, he simply answered the question.

"Oh, believe me when I say that it happened. Granted, it only actually worked once, but it won me a war. I can understand were your coming from though, which is why I'm inviting you two ta witness my stunt on the day of the guests stay. Will it be staged? Yes. But will it be glorious?... Also yes." He sat back down on his chair, signaling for them to continue talking after his speech.

Fishook decided to continue after the king, waving his hook around as he spoke. "Well as impractical as that sounds, I meself have a crazy performance I'll be doin. Ya see, back in the days of pirating, they used ta sing a song about me. About the time me and me crew were sailing the ocean's and fought the great King Blooper, the devourer of the seven seas. As ye can tell, I asked Morty ta help me out with setting up my ship… so I can perform the shanty with me crew." The captain declared.

"So, you're not gonna re-enact your great battle with the beast?"

"Nah, way too expensive. Besides, I prefer musicals meself and I really wanted ta perform in one. Morty says I have talent, like a star in the process o' being birthed." He took a sip from his mug of rum, before staring at Serpci and giving her her turn on to speak. "So, what will ye be doin on the day, lass?"

"Not much. I'll probably be in my floor, taking care of my snakes and checking in on you all every once in a while." Serpci stirred her glass as she said this. "It's a shame that E Gadd doesn't consider my honorary staff member position as enough to allow me to help you all."

"Well if ya keep up with those outrageous tips you've been giving us all, then ya don't have ta do anything else for us." The trio chuckled at Macfrighst statement.

"Oh, you know I do my best to help keep the hotel well-funded. I have a lot of money to burn, anyway. An advantage to being dead for hundreds of years is that everything you own is valuable to people. Even if it's just a vase you were scammed into buying by some back-alley bootlegger." Serpci started chuckling to herself. "That reminds me of this hilarious thing Steward told me a while ago."

"Oh, I think I heard this one too. Go on."

"Ok, so Steward comes to my floor while I was feeding my snakes. He floats up to me and says what I consider to be the most outrageous thing I've ever heard." She gestures the other two to come closer. "He tells me, that if I would kindly get rid of the traps in my pyramid!"

The three of them were silent for a few seconds, only to burst out in uproarious laughter at the insane concept Steward had presented.

"HAHAHAHA! That has to be the stupidest thing Steward has ever told us! What next? Is he gonna ask Clem to take away the toilets from the bathroom?" Fishook slammed his hook hand on the counter, startling the Oozer into dropping his glass.

"Yeah, he asked me the same thing. What's a castle without it's death traps anyway? That just doesn't make any sense!" Macfrights said as well.

"Heh, Steward is stupid sometimes."

The other two agreed to Fishook's statement, clinking their mugs and glass together to toast to it.

* * *

"Thank you all for joining tonight's screening, ladies and gentlemen." Morty said to the gathered crowd of ghosts in his screening room. At the front were the more recognizable ghosts, while in the back were the assorted goobs, hammers, oozers and slinkers. They all stopped talking to each other to listen to the film maker speak. "As a way to both commemorate and prepare for our celebrity guests' arrival at the hotel, I have decided to organize this marathon screening of the entire John Wicker series. You will all be witness to the incredible drama, beautiful choreography and mind-blowing action present in this series so that all of you, especially some of the less film savvy among us can understand just how great of an actor Ghoulanu Graves truly is!" The ghosts gave Morty a round of applause while they watched him float towards the projector. Once the noise died down, he turned on the projector, and all of the ghosts turned their attention towards the screen.

At the seats closest to the screen, Dr. Potter was staring at the more ancient ghosts, seated further behind him. He turned towards Kruller to ask him something. "Say, sonny, they do know that none of what happens in the movie is real, right?" He said as he pointed towards the aforementioned ghosts.

Kruller simply chuckled. "Don't worry doctor. Me and Morty made sure to explain the whole thing to them." Kruller turned back towards the screen.

The good botanist himself wasn't fully convinced about the fact. After a while, he simply shrugged to himself and started watching the movie. The weekend felt so close already.

* * *

**On the next, the guest makes his arrival.**

**Thank you to evils-corner for beta reading this.**


	4. Chapter 3: The Arrival

**Chapter 3: The Arrival**

**A short one this time, but next will be longer. **

**Luigi's Mansion 3 is owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

Inside his lab, one Professor Elvin Gadd was making some tweaks to the Pixelator, all the while working on a list of questions to ask the guest during his stay. And maybe he was also coming up with a few experiments he could perform as well. There was no sense in wasting such a fine high-profile ghost and not perform his usual experiments on them!

It was while he was thinking as to whether he should add the electro chamber to that list of experiments that he noticed an odd glow coming from the Pixelator. Humming curiously, he took a closer look at his prized invention, in hopes of maybe spotting the origin of the mysterious glow.

Across the valley were the Last Resort was located, a large explosion was heard. If one were to pay attention, they could even hear someone exclaim the word "Criminy!" out of shock.

* * *

"Where are you going, sir?" Steward asked the professor, watching as he, along with the green ghost hunter himself, Luigi, packed his car full of equipment the bellhop couldn't make sense off.

"Why back to my old lab in Evershade Valley, my boy." The professor explained, casually directing Luigi to continue packing when he reared his head up from the car's luggage compartment. "As you might have heard last night, one of my inventions, the Pixelator, has suffered a malfunction of catastrophic proportions! One of the couplings inside had broken off somehow and caused the device to go haywire. I need my Spectral Welding Torch to repair it, but I left it behind in the Valley before I came here."

Steward nodded along to the professor's explanation, pretending to understand everything that he said.

"While there, Luigi and I will try and pack up the rest of my equipment to transport back here, so I'm afraid to say that I won't be around for the guests stay." The professor explained, not noticing the sigh of relief from both Steward and Luigi. "Such a shame too, I had so many questions and experiments that I wanted to make. But since you are still here, you can still knock off the question part off the list." He handed Steward a questionnaire, along with a pair of keys. "I also want you to lock up my lab. I forgot to close it."

As the professor walked towards his car, Luigi came to great the bellhop. "Hello, Steward! You guys are ready for the big day, right?"

"Indeed we are, sir! Everyone has prepared for this day. You might not be able to tell, sir, but I'm incredibly nervous."

"Well there's no reason to be. You guys gave me and my friends a great time, so I'm sure you can make this one just as good." Luigi said. When he heard the professor call out his name, he gave the bellhop a thumbs up and a "Good luck!" He ran back towards E. Gadd's car, and as soon as he entered, it revved its engine and drove its way out of the underground parking lot.

* * *

"Okay everyone! Today is the day!" Steward announced to the entirety of the hotel staff, all having gathered at the lobby for the big meeting. "I want to remind you all about what is at stake! If this doesn't go well, then we won't just lose a potential guest. No. The hotel's reputation will plummet; we will lose the hotel, and we will all not only lose our job, but our home as well! That is why we must make sure that these next two days are the best two days in one Mister Ghoulanu Graves' unlife! Make sure that every single need of his is met and that every single thing he experiences is as spectacular as popular. Understood?!"

Everyone gave a loud cheer of affirmation.

"Good! Now let's all go over the schedule. Once our guest has settled in, he will first be allowed to roam the hotel as he pleases, meaning he can show up anywhere. After that, he will go to the 11th floor for the triplet's performance at 6, followed by Wolgeists' recital at 7. After that will be his tour of Morty's studio followed by dinner in the mezzanine. He will then return to his room, concluding his first day. Tomorrow will be the busy day. He'll be attending King Macfrights' jousting performance, followed by a trip to the botanical gardens, a party in the dance hall, and dinner in the Spectral Catch. Now, everyone head back to your floors for final preparations. The guest will be here in a few hours."

The staff started to talk amongst each other as they headed towards their floors, leaving behind Steward to take of his cap and wipe the sweat off his forehead.

"I always love it when "confident Steward" shows up." Kruller said as he floated up to the bellhop. Steward, in response, straightened out his sleeves with a look of pride of his face.

"What can I say, I'm a damn good bellhop."

"Well the damn good bellhop also has a receptionist desk to attend to, doesn't he?" Chambrea commented, startling Steward into nearly dropping his cap.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I should. Oh! And before you go, could you get rid of this?" He handed to Chambrea a certain clipboard. "It's a questionnaire the professor made."

The three ghosts shuddered at what was on the clipboard. They really had to explain to the professor what questions you should never ask a ghost. While Chambrea considered where to throw it away, Steward flew over towards the receptionist desk, but not before Kruller gave him a good luck peck on the cheek.

After some consideration, Chambrea shrugged her shoulders and ate the clipboard.

* * *

A goob, a hammer and an oozer, all dressed in typical hotel worker attire, were waiting outside, eager for the guest's arrival. The goob started gesturing wildly towards the distance, and the hammer and oozer could see why: a limousine had appeared in the horizon, and that could mean only one thing.

The limo drove through the gates and stopped in front of the ghostly valets. The door to the driver's seat opened up, and out stepped a purple colored ghost with slicked back black hair, beard, and wearing a very nice-looking black suit, along with some very expensive looking sunglasses. This man was the one and only Ghoulanu Graves, looking exactly like he did in the film he died starring in. He took off his sunglasses, causing the hammer to swoon in awe.

"Hi there. I assume you guys are here to take my car?" He addressed the three ghosts, who could only nod while looking completely starstruck by his presence. "Good." He threw his keys at the oozer, who fumbled a bit before catching them. "Be careful with her, she's a very expensive gal. And thank you for letting me stay at your great hotel. You guys are great for doing that." He shot finger guns at them as he floated towards the hotel entrance. The hammer simply passed out on top of the goob, while the oozer stared at the keys he was holding in his hands as if he was holding the Holy Grail.

Once Ghoulanu entered the building, most of the few residents that were staying in the hotel (plus a few staff members) stopped what they were doing to stare in awe at who had just arrived. Steward himself was rapidly adjusting his apparel, right up until Ghoulanu had reached the receptionist desk. Steward gave him his best "costumer pleasing" smile and spread his arms wide as he greeted him.

"Welcome, Mister Graves, to the Last Resort! Where you'll enjoy your stay so much you wish you could die here! How can I help you?"

"Yeah, hi. First of all, let me just say this, I love what you've done with the place. Best looking hotel I've been in, I can say that much." Graves admired his surroundings as he said this. "Although I gotta ask, this place looked different in the brochure. Is there a reason for that?"

"Yes, sadly. A month ago, the dastardly King Boo brainwashed the entire staff and used us in a ploy to capture not just the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, but also her friends Luigi and… Red Luigi? I don't remember his name. Either way, the hotel was destroyed in the process, but a man by the name of E. Gadd was generous enough to rebuild the entire hotel for us."

"Harsh. Sorry for what happened to your people. Oh, by the way, when will I be meeting this E. Gadd guy? I heard a lot of things about him."

"I'm afraid he's left the hotel on official scientist business. He won't be returning until Monday." Steward sighed internally in relief. "Anyway, would you like to check in, sir?"

"Absolutely."

Ghloulanu followed the bellhop towards the elevator. Once inside, Steward pushed the 15F button, and waited until the elevator doors closed to address their guest. "Let me tell you, sir, we have a wonderful set activities planned out for your stay. Over the next two days, I can guarantee you will experience everything this hotel has to offer at its best."

"You don't have to worry." Ghoulanu smiled as he said this. "I know I'm going to have a fun time here. Especially with the help of your staff, including you, by the way. People don't give bellhops the respect they deserve."

Steward blinked owlishly at the compliment, not at all being used to being appreciated for his hard work. "Oh, umm, thank you, sir. Your kind words are very much appreciated."

A few seconds of silence later, the elevator doors opened, revealing the tastefully decorated (and King Boo free) Penthouse Suite. Steward guided Ghoulanu out of the elevator towards his bedroom. "Your luggage will arrive here in a few minutes, sir. Once you are settled in, feel free to explore the hotel to your hearts content. I advise you head to the Hotel Shops first for coffee. We just received a shipment of Lunoman Greenie today." Steward opened the door to the bedroom, allowing Ghoulanu to admire the room in its entirety. "Your first scheduled event will be at 6 PM in floor 11."

"Thank you, my good man. You'll come over when I ask for you, right?"

"Of course, anything for our guest."

"Good, see ya later." Ghoulanu closed the door, turning towards his bed and laying on it.

"Today is going to be a very good day for me."

* * *

**Next time, Ghoulanu Graves explores the hotel, his charming personality enchanting everyone in the hotel.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Day

**Chapter 4: The Day**

**A little late on this one, mosty due to writers block and school responsibilities. At least you guys are getting 4000 words this time.**

**And this story is nearing 2000 views! I am very proud on how much you are enjoying this, and I will keep on delivering to you your entertainment.**

**Luigi's Mansion 3 is owned by Nintendo and Next Level Games**

* * *

Inside the elevator hall of the Tomb Suites, Dr. Potter was busy doing his job as the hotel gardener, giving watery nourishment to the various plants that decorated the building. And like any self-respecting botanist/gardener, he was also talking to the plants.

"A little water for you, Carmenita. And a little water for you too, Charlotte. I hope you two have been having a good day." Once he was satisfied with the plant's states, he went ahead and called the elevator to continue caring for the other plants of the hotel. He waited for the telltale ding of the elevator's arrival, and when the doors slid open, he saw the new guest waiting behind the doors. "Oh, hello! You must be Ghoulanu Graves, right?"

"And you must be Dr. Harriet Potter, correct?" They both shook hands as Potter entered the elevator. "Let me just say it's a great honor to meet you. I've ordered many a product from your catalogue and I've not regretted it once." He stuck out his head out the elevator. "Say, what's this floor about? Anything interesting I should know about this place?"

"Oh, this place? This floor is owned by one of our V.I. P's. She bought it out when she checked in when the hotel was built and has been here ever since."

"Wait, so you can buy your own floors here?"

"Well, not anymore. Our new boss says that it's bad for business. The only reason our V.I.P still owns this floor is because she's friend with us staff members. That, and she gives outrageous tips!" The two burst out laughing at Potter's comment.

"Aghhh, I knew I made the right choice in coming to this place. Anyway, I look forward to your tour tomorrow. I'll get to see how truly incredibly talented of a botanist you- "

"Oh, Potter! Hold the door for me!" Ghoulanu was interrupted by someone's shout. Looking out the elevator, they both saw as the resident of the floor rushed her way towards them. When she gracefully entered the elevator, she gave Potter a quick greeting before noticing the other passenger. "Ah! You must be the new guest! It is an honor to meet you." She offered her hand to the dumbstruck actor, who accepted the handshake.

"Hello, se- Ma'am. It's an honor to meet the queen of the sands." An awkward silence engulfed the elevator, Ghoulanu looking slightly uncomfortable for whatever reason. The silence was broken when Serpci realized something.

"Oh, before I forget, my deepest condolences for the loss of your wife and dog. I too understand what it's like to lose something you love. I would have done the same thing you did."

Ghoulanu stared at the queen, wondering what the hell she was talking about. Potter tapped him on his shoulder to get his attention as he whispered into the actor's ear. "Just play along. She and her friends still don't understand that the stuff in movies isn't real. They're old."

"Oh! Uh, yeah." He turned back to address the queen, who didn't notice their brief interaction. "Yeah! I know, I was devastated when that happened. Could barely get out of bed for months. But, after some time, I managed to pull myself back together, as you can see right here." He pointed to himself with a nervous smile on his face. When the elevator doors dinged open, signifying their arrival to another floor, he immediately flew out of the elevator in a rush. "Anyway, gotta go, nice to meet you, Serpci. Bye!" The elevator doors closed as Serpci and Potter stared at each other in confusion.

* * *

The hours passed by as Ghoulanu explored the hotel. Shopping in the Hotel Shops; working out and going for a swim in the Fitness Center; morbidly admiring E. Gadd's Hall of Portraits and chatting with every resident and staff member he ran across, whether it was simply to talk or to ask for his autograph. His charming personality was endearing him to everyone very quickly, and the day was barely halfway over! But now, it was 6 AM, and he found himself in the 11th floor, watching the magic show the triplets had prepared.

Nikki's trick definitely impressed him, but he couldn't help but find her… detestable, in a way. The malevolent smile, the way she spoke of herself, even the nature of the trick just screamed "evil triplet", somehow transforming the contents of everyone's contents into living rabbits and guessing what belonged to who with disturbing accuracy. Lindsey's trick was just as good, if a bit on the rude side, pulling him out of her hat without any warning. He would have enjoyed it more if she had asked first, or if she did it to someone else, at least. The last one, Ginny, was performing her trick right now, juggling several swords and throwing them over her shoulder at a bunny doll that was tied to a spinning dartboard behind her, and doing it all while blindfolded. Regardless of how she threw them, none of them ever hit the doll, landing in every empty spot almost perfectly. When she threw the last sword, landing it exactly between the doll's legs, she turned towards the audience, took off her blindfold and gave them a bow to the resounding applause from everyone.

"And that was Ginny, ladies and gentlemen, with her sword throwing act!" Lindsey said as she, along with Nikki, popped op on stage next to Ginny in a puff of smoke. "And now, for the last trick of the hour, we present to you all: The Davy Jones Experience. Take it away, Nikki!" She and Ginny poofed away as Nikki took center stage.

"Alright, ladies and gentlefolk, for this trick, I'm going to need you all to focus on me for a moment. Now, I know what you're thinking "pfft, that doesn't sound too hard," and I can understand that, I'm amazing. But seriously people, focus on me and me alone." Nikki started to move her body around in a hypnotic pattern, thought to her by Serpci in exchange for teaching her how to use the internet, entrancing the audience as Lindsey and Ginny worked on performing the spell. Nikki slowly faded away as the surrounding area transformed into an oceanic backdrop, with gorgeous coral reefs, a wide variety of colorful fishes swimming around, and a sunken pirate ship of in the distance. The audience rubbed their eyes and gaped at their surroundings in awe. They soon felt their seats shake and start to move around the ocean floor, giving them a tour of the grand, illusionary act the triplets were performing. They saw as a school of fish formed into the shape a whale and devoured them, only to just as quickly disperse. They saw as the coral around them would switch between the colors of the rainbow. They even saw as the fish that swam around them formed a swirling vortex, guiding the audience into the sunken ship. Once inside, the vortex dispersed to reveal a makeshift stage in front of them, with wooden, algae covered statues of the triplets in the center. The heads of the statues suddenly turned to the audience and winked, cueing the water around them to start draining, changing the area back to the lounge of the Twisted Suites as the water levels decreased. When the water was drained completely, the statues were covered in a puff of smoke, revealing the real triplets once it dispersed. They bowed to the audience and snapped their fingers, turning on the lights and causing them to disappear from the stage. Once the audience recovered from their impromptu journey through the sea, they gave a resounding applause and cheers of adulation.

* * *

In the wardrobe room, Lindsey wiped some sweat of her brow. "Whew. And that is how we roll, girls! Nikki, great job on keeping their eyes off of me and Ginny. That spell is exhausting."

"Your welcome. You guys needed all the time you could get to not screw up. Just be glad I had to swoop in to help."

Once they all recovered from their exhaustion, they made their way from the wardrobe to the elevator hall. They popped up in front of the people waiting for the elevator and held out their hats for tips.

"Thank you, thank you, we hope you all enjoyed our performance and that you have a wonderful evening!" Ginny said. Once the crowd dispersed into the elevator, they started counting out the cash that they got…

Only to look up and notice that Ghoulanu was still in the hall. They immediately put their hats back on, Nikki and Lindsey ignoring the money falling out of Ginny's and addressed their celebrity guest.

"Mister Graves! We didn't see you there. Did you enjoy our show?" They said simultaneously.

"_littlecreepy_ But, yeah! You were spectacular! I especially liked that sword throwing trick by, umm, Ginny, correct?" Ginny nodded affirmatively. "Cool, and that little hat trick by Lindsey. Little rude, but really creative. And… uhhhhhh, Vicky?" He asked the triplet with the long pigtails, who had a frown grow on her face for a split second before replacing it with a rather forced looking smile.

"Nikki."

"Yeah, sure. Well, I'll be honest that I found your trick the worst of the three. Very uninspired, and I find you didn't help out in the final trick, which is just plain rude." Ghoulanu said with a wide smile on his face. "But that's just my opinion."

Nikki still had a very forced smile on her face, her right eye occasionally twitching. "Could you excuse us for a moment?" She said through gritted teeth as she and her sisters formed a group huddle.

Ghoulanu tried to lean in discretely and listen in on the conversation, catching the occasional piece of discussion as the triplets talked.

"-two weeks it took to perfect that stupid trick!"

"I know you're mad, Nikki, but we need to- "

"What?! Let him insult my hard work?"

"Look, why don't you go to Dr. Potter and vent things out, we deal with him, ok?"

"Hnnngh, fine!"

Nikki dove into her hat and teleported away, leaving Ghoulanu with two rather peeved looking sisters to talk to. "Uuhhmmmm, I think I went too far somewhere?"

"Look, Mister Graves." Lindsey began to speak. "We understand the whole thing about constructive criticism and such, but we won't stand for anyone insulting our sister like that!"

"Look, I'm sorry, I thought she was this evil triplet type. Ya know, the type one should call out when you see them."

"Well with all due respect sir," Ginny began. "we are the only ones who get to do that. We know she has an ego, but that doesn't mean anyone can just give it a blow, no matter how well deserved it is."

A look of embarrassment came over the celebrity ghost as he realized what he had done. "Oh, crap. I, uh, I overstepped my boundaries there didn't I. Look, before you guys do anything, let me explain myself. I was trying to do the right thing, taking down someone's ego because she was taking advantage of you, but I completely misinterpreted the situation. All three of you gave an amazing performance and contributed just as much as each other for the whole thing. I'm sorry."

Lindsey and Ginny felt their anger eb away at Ghoulanu's apology, before their usual smiles returned to their faces. "Well apology accepted, sir! We all make mistakes. Lemme go look for Nikki so that you can give one to her too!"

"Oh, you don't need to do that." Ginny stopped in her tracks at their guest's voice. "Look, I'll look for her and apologize and you two can stay back and relax after all of your hard work. I have to go down anyway. I need to attend the performance in the Grand Stage."

"Alright then sir, enjoy your stay. And tell Mister Wolfgeist we said hi!" The two sisters said simultaneously as Ghoulanu entered the hotel. He gave them a little wave until the elevator doors closed, then sighed to himself.

"Phew, that did not go well at all."

* * *

Amadeus Wolfgeist's long fingers tapped away at the piano keys, filling the room with a jaunty tune most famously heard in the Evershade Valley. The audience listened in rapped attention, making sure to not make a single noise out of respect/fear for the pianist. Once he finished his piece, Wolfgeist raised his hand in the air, signaling the audience that they were allowed to clap. The audience responded in kind as Wolfgeist signaled his orchestra to take over as he floated into his dressing room for a break.

"The crowds today disgust me." Amadeus said while adjusting his finely combed hair. "I saw some uncouth vagrant _texting_ in the middle of the performance! _Texting!_ I wanted to crush him; split him in half like an old branch; tear him apart like that Saint-Saëns idiot my teachers kept clamoring on and on about!"

"And what are you going to do about it?" Chambrea said from her seat in the dressing room, not looking up from her "Mushroom Celebrity Gossiper" magazine (Current headline: "Were Bowser and Waluigi married at some point? The answer may shock you!")

"Ugh, I will suck it up, as you said; I will continue the performance, and after it is all over, I will vent out my anger in a healthy and safe manner." He groaned out. "Why do you insist on treating me like some tantrum throwing child? And also, why are you here?"

"First of all, it's because that tantrum throwing child was the reason we stopped looking for therapists, and second of all, Steward asked me to keep an eye on you so you wouldn't throw another hissy fit in front of the guest."

"… I cannot argue with that logic."

A knock was heard on the other side of the dressing room door, startling the maid and the pianist. The latter bristled in anger, but a glance from the former put an end to it as she opened the door to see Ghoulanu Graves standing on the other side.

"Mister Graves?" Chambrea was surprised as the ghost actor let himself into the room. "You're not allowed to be here! The performance isn't over yet!"

"Yes, it is _not_ over, which means you should be respectful and return to your seat!" Amadeus said through gritted teeth and barely restrained rage. Ghoulanu, for his part, simply smiled as he addressed the mad pianist.

"Yeah, sorry, I thought it was already over. But believe me when I say I just couldn't wait to meet the great Amadeus Wolfgeist. I've listened to a lot of your compositions to the point that it's basically ruined all classical music for me. You're that good."

The actor's calmed down the pianist, to the point a genuine smile had formed on his face. "Ah, finally, a man of good taste. I will admit, I had my doubts about you, Mister Graves. But now I see I was wrong. Thank you for the kind words, sir." He gave a bow to the ghost in front of him, ignoring the flabbergasted look in Chambrea's face as she witnessed the whole event. People barging into the dressing room was one of Wolfgeist's many, many, many peeves, and the culprits would usually find themselves being chased throughout the whole hotel by an angry piano. But in just a few words, Mister Graves had managed to bring out a genuine smile out of the man. He only ever smiled like that when his performances went perfectly, or someone ended up getting crushed by the chandeliers again. It was immensely suspicious and, being the leader of the hotel's underground gossip club, she had to find out how.

She watched from the dressing room as Wolfgeist continued with his last composition, smile still on his face, even when someone coughed hard enough to be heard throughout the entire room. The mad pianist was not being his usual mad self, and the celebrity guest had the secret to how. Once the recital was over, and everyone made their way out the auditorium, did the maid make her move. She snuck her way through the halls of the Great Stage, discretely following the actor who had gone to the bathroom. She waited outside, casually greeting the occasional passing guest or staff member, until her target floated through the door.

"Excuse me, sir."

The actor ghost flailed his arms as he turned around to meet the owner of the voice, then calmed down and tried to pat himself back down. "Oh, it's just you. Do you need anything, ma'am?"

"Yes. I want to know what you did to Mister Wolfgeist." The maid ghost had a serious look on her face as she said this. "His rages are infamous amongst us at the Last Resort, and for someone to just calm him down with just a few words is simply unheard of. How?"

"Oh, you know how it is." Ghoulanu sounded nervous as he said this. "You just have to know how to compliment a person, and the next thing you know, they'll do anything you want."

"That sounds very suspicious, sir."

"No, no, no, no, let me- lemme explain! You see, in the acting bussines, you tend to deal with a lot of people, and you have to know the right things to say to keep them happy. I can understand why you're suspicious, it all sounds very creepy, I get that. But you seem like a smart and friendly person. You know, the kind who looks after her friends when it comes to things like when they're sad or angry or when they just need some life advice. I admire that in people, you know that?"

The ghostly maid blinked as she processed the words of the ghostly actor, who was staring at her with a nervous smile on his face. She then suddenly gained a wide smile on her face. "Oh, it all makes sense now! For a moment there I thought you brainwashed Mister Wolfgeist or something along those lines. I'm sorry for pressuring you like that, Mister Graves. If it makes you feel any better, we could always use someone with a way with words like you have around these parts!"

Ghoulanu stared at the maid with confusion etched on his face. "What do you- what do you mean by that?"

"It means that I'll see if I can convince our boss if he can expand your stay just a little longer. Maybe with your help, you might even be able to stay here permanently."

The explanation by the ghostly maid put a smile on the actor's face. "Wait, really? That's great! I'm definitely liking it around here, you know, what with all the ghosts and people with interesting personalities and skills." The actor ghost started making his way towards the elevator, signaling the maid to follow him. "Oh hey, do you happen to know any juicy facts about the other workers around here? You know, so I can get to know everyone better?"

"Oh, certainly. There's this little thing the bartender told me earlier- "

* * *

"You think he'll sign my hat?" Kruller asked Gloria as they rode the elevator to Paranormal Studios. "Or is that too forward? It's too forward, isn't it!"

"I dunno man! I'm not even sure what vinyl I want him to sign?" Gloria said. "At least you're lucky enough to not have to perform in front of the guy! My entire reputation is hanging on how well I impress him. There is no way in hell I'm admitting that Amadeus' music is good."

Kruller stared at her for a few seconds. "… But you do think it's good."

"Well… yeah. But I don't want to say that to him. I have a reputation to uphold."

The elevator doors opened, and the two floated out and started making their way to the main studio, where Morty was holding his tour.

"All I have to do right now is make a good impression. Ya know, sway his favor over to me and not to Wolfgeist. Should I start by complimenting his looks and asking him out to dinner?"

"No, that sounds like your asking him out on a date."

"Good point. He's probably in the same league as Serpci anyway. It would take a lot of dumb luck for that to happen."

They both arrived at the door to Morty's studio, and they stopped to wait outside. Kruller worked on steeling his nerves.

"Ok, you know what, let's just focus on the important part: We're meeting one of the best actors in the film industry! So, we just have to do what tv's and movies tell us to do: Be ourselves."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"… lovely tour, Morty." The two heard a voice coming from the other side of the doors. As they panicked and worked on making themselves look presentable, the doors were flung open to reveal Ghoulanu and Morty amiably chatting with each other.

"Why you're quite welcome. It's not every day I have the honor of meeting an actor as talented as you." Morty said. When he noticed the DJ and the mall cop, he went on to introduce them to the actor. "Ah! You are here! Mister Graves, let me introduce you to two of my closest friends, Kruller and Gloria!"

Ghoulanu went ahead and shook the two starstruck ghosts' hands. It took all of Kruller's resolve to not faint in front of him. "Uhh, hi, Mister Graves! It's a- it's a huge honor to meet you, sir. I'm a- we are, we're huge fans of your work. I, personally, loved you in Point Break, one of my favorite movies." He told the actor, not noticing the confused look on his face.

Gloria shoved Kruller aside to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Gloria. You might have heard of me as the Funkadelic Disco Queen DJ Phantasmagloria hopefully. Anyway, I just wanted to say to you that I'm a huge fan of your work I loved you in Matrix and I hope that you'll have a great time when you come to my floor tomorrow. _And that you'll enjoy your time better than in the Great Stage._" She whispered that last part to herself, to make sure the actor didn't hear her. He, for his part, simply maneuvered himself so that he could sling his arms around their shoulders, causing the both of them to try not to squeal in childlike delight.

"Sheesh, calm down you two! What am I, Alexander the Great? Look, you two look like cool people. I mean, a mall cop and a DJ as my biggest fans? Mall cops are a very underappreciated group of law enforcement members, and I personally believe that all cops deserve more respect. And just by looking at you, I can tell you are someone who deserves respect." He turned to look at Gloria. "And DJ's, man, DJ's make some damn good music that people just deride as garbage without even trying to listen or appreciate their art. I'm pretty sure your floor gets better attendance than the classical music one, and I simply can't wait to meet up with you and join the party." He lets go of the two and makes his way towards the elevator hall, but not before turning towards them and shooting finger guns at them. "Anyway, I have dinner reservations. See you guys tomorrow!"

"Such a fantastic man." Morty says as he watches the actor ghost leave.

"I know. He's my hero." Kruller says.

"Who's Alexander the Great?" Gloria asks, receiving a noncommittal shrug from her two friends. "Wait. We forgot to ask him for autographs, didn't we?"

* * *

**Next time, a few ghosts notice some odd things about the guest and their fellow coworkers.**

**See you guys then.**


	6. Chapter 5: The Elevator

**Chapter 5: The Elevator**

**A little later than usual due to procrastination, but it's here nonetheless. Thank you all for the support, and I'm glad you are enjoying this story as much as I am.**

**Luigi's Mansion 3 is owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

"Thanks for delivering my dinner." Ghoulanu said to Johnny, as the buff ghost put down an entire table full of food in front of the guest's bed. "I just like eating food while on my bed, is all."

"No prob, bob. Nothing less than perfect for the coolest dude in the hotel." The swimmer ghost said as he wiped sweat off his brow from carrying an entire table. "Besides, you got permission from Soulfflé to do this, and he hates it when people don't eat food where it's supposed to."

"You just have to know what to say to people, and before you know it, they'll give you anything you want. Now get out, you big lug, my food's getting cold." Ghoulanu shoved the swimmer out the door and closed it behind him. He eyed all of the delicious foods that were on the table, particularly the salad. "Why do they call it a Caesar salad? It's got nothing to do with him. That's just- that's just stupid." He grabbed the plate of salad and took it to the bathroom, dumping it all in the toilet. He also saw a rubber duckie in the bathtub, which he also tossed inside. "Well, trash goes were trash goes: down the toilet thing." He pulled the flusher and watched as the offending objects were flushed into the pipes. But he noticed something strange coming from it. He put his ear to the pipes of the toilet, and listening closely, he could hear… wedding music?

As any normal person would react, he decided to ignore the strange event and continue with his dinner.

* * *

Deep, deep under the hotel, in the labyrinthian pipelines of the Boilerworks, a full-on wedding was taking place. Several miniature tables with miniature cutleries were strewn across the floor, all tastefully decorated with the appropriate ; a reception table full of random knick knacks to represent gifts, and a large group impeccably dressed guests, all for the wedding between Quackena Dunsworth and Sir Harold Quackington the Third.

"Do you, Harold Quackington," Clem said as he floated in front of the two ducks. "take Quackena Dunsworths hand in holy matrimony, in sickness and in health?"

"…"

"And do you, Quackena Dunsworth, take Harold Quackingtons hand in holy matrimony, in sickness and in health?"

"…"

"You may now kiss the duck!" Clem grabbed the two rubber duckies and made them kiss each other, to the imaginary applause of all the other duckies attending the wedding. With a satisfied nod, he went over to the boombox and turned it off, signifying the end of the wedding. "Well that's the end a that. A good way ta spend time down here if Ah do say so myself." He started gathering all the little duckies as he thought about what to do next. Perhaps he should do Duck Wars: The Quack Awakens? That should probably keep him busy for the other 24 hours left of the guests stay.

"Ah tell ya, Harold, one day, Morty's gonna have ta make a movie out of my ideas. He's missin out on a lotta good shit." The mechanic idly chatted with the duck in his hand, only to hear a rattling sound coming from the pipes. The mechanic sighed to himself. Probably another ghost flushed more stuff down the toilets again.

"If this is anotha one of Serpci's pots, A'm gonna give that lady an earful on toilet etiquette. The pipes can't handle this stuff going through them."

Spinning one of the many valves to switch the flow of the water, Clem watched as a large amount of salad poured out of the pipes. Last he checked, salad was not able to make noise in pipes, so once he turned the valve back to its original position, he began to sift through the mushy salad to find the culprit. He had put his hands into more disgusting things than sewer salad, sure. But what he found inside of it was something that would go down in history as the most horrible thing he has ever found.

* * *

"And he has the audacity to call me some sort of attention seeking egomaniac! What about me makes people think I'm like that? I'm awesome." Nikki vented to a beleaguered Dr. Potter as they made their way to the elevator.

"I don't know, Nikki. Let me just have a talk with him and get this all straightened out." He pushed the button to the 15th floor. "Besides, I want to discuss a few things with him. Haven't you noticed that things have been weird lately. Like, say, somethings come over everyone ever since Graves arrived?"

The middle child of the magician trio hummed to herself in thought. "No, not really. I was kinda busy plotting revenge to pay attention to my surroundings. Why do you ask, anyway?"

"Some of my gardener goobs are acting weird. They've been yammering on and on about how great Ghoulanu Graves is, and I'm pretty sure none of them know what movies are."

"That sound pretty weird. I bet _he _has something to do with it! An even better reason to get revenge on him!"

The elevator doors opened up, but the two noticed that they weren't at the 15th floor. Rather, they were in the Boilerworks. Someone had called the elevator from there and it decided to go down there first. When the doors had fully parted, they saw that the someone was Clem, who was looking mighty angry at the moment. The mechanic ghost floated into the elevator, standing between the magician and the botanist.

"Uuuhh, Clem?" Nikki tried to address the angry mechanic. "Is something wrong?"

Clem wordlessly pulled out something from inside his pocket. Or rather, someone: Jennifer, Clem's most valuable ducky!

"Is… is that Jennifer? What happened to her?" Potter asked Clem.

"That maniac, Graves flushed her down the toilet!" He revealed, to the gasps of horror from Nikki and Potter. "Ah entrusted that man with her safety, and he goes ahead and treats her like some trash ta flush down the toilet!" Clem lightly petted the poor ducks head. "Ya can just hear how traumatized she is!"

"…" The duck said.

"A'm gonna give that darn man a piece of my mind. Nikki, ya remember the Paint Splasher?"

"That's what _I_ wanted to do! But _Potter_," She said as she glared at the titular botanist. "wants us to deal with it like "_reasonable adults_" or some stupid shit like that. I have some paint cans stocked up under my bed. We can get my sisters and then deal with the guy together."

"At least let me have a talk with the man. _Then _you can have your revenge." Potter suggested. The mechanic and magician begrudgingly accepted the suggestion and waited in silence as Nikki pushed the 11th floor button. They watched as the buttons lit up one by one, climbing up from B2 to F11…

Only to stop at F6, Castle MacFrights. The doors parted to reveal MacFrights and Fishook discussing something between each other. They both entered the elevator, casually greeting the current occupants, and watched as the doors closed in front of them.

"Hey, laddies, do ye all think people are acting strange lately?" Fishook asked suddenly. "Cuz lemme tell ya, Morty just said the weirdest thing to me earlier." He took the others expectant stares as a yes. "Ok, so,"

* * *

"I was rehearsing my performance fer tomorrow with Morty, and things were going pretty well."

_As the goobs announce the arrival of the Dread Captain Fishook, he lunged out of the water and onto the ship, glaring menacingly at his audience of one ghost, Morty._

"I ask Morty what he thinks, and he says to me the weirdest thing I've ever heard come out of his mouth."

_Morty gives them all a thumbs up. "That was great!"_

* * *

The other occupants stared incredulously at the Captain.

"That… that was it? No comparing you to "a star rising from the horizon" or something?" Nikki inquired.

"No, nothing like that. Just "that was great" and nothing else. I think somethings wrong with him."

"Aye, even my own goob servants are acting strangely. I saw them taking things from my armories, yammering on about how "the guest would love the gifts he asked for." This Ghoulanu Graves fella is up to something nefarious." MacFrights added.

"That movie thing you showed didn't mention that he was capable of enchanting people. Combined with his assassin skills, I think he might be the deadliest thing in the whole hotel!"

"Again, the movie wasn't real, everything in it was staged, the actor is not, in fact, a trained assassin." Potter explained, exasperation clear in his voice.

"Maybe, but I do remember reading online that he did actual training for his stunts, so he _could _have actual skill and stuff." Nikki pointed out. "Either way, all I'm hearing right now is that this guy deserves to be drowned in a tub of paint."

"Actually, I believe I have an idea as to who this man really is."

The current residents of the elevator screamed in surprise when Serpci piped up from her side of the elevator. None of them had actually noticed the queen enter, too busy discussing the strange goings ons in the hotel to notice.

"Dr. Potter, you remember how he referred to me as "Queen of the sands" earlier this morning?"

"Hmmm, yeah. I did think that was weird. You never even gave him your name." He realized. "Plus, the way he talked when you gave him condolences for his dog who died in a movie and not in real life- " He said that last part while staring at the three oldest ghosts in the elevator, who didn't really seem to understand the reason why he was doing that. "It was almost like he didn't know what he was talking about. Like he was making up stuff on the spot."

"Indeed. I've been spying on him during the other performances- by the way, Nikki, you and your sisters were quite impressive. I loved your trick in particular."

"Thank you!"

"And I keep seeing him intercept the other staff and talk to them. I even saw him head into Amadeus' dressing room in the middle of his performance and come out of there completely unscathed!"

"Really? Not even a scratch on 'em?" Clem asked.

"No. In fact, Amadeus looked happier than usual. He was actually smiling through the rest of the recital." Serpci said. "And here is the important part: I've seen this all before."

* * *

After finishing his well-earned meal, Ghoulanu examined one of the swords he had requested the goobs to bring to him.

"Not something I'm used to, but it'll do. Now, what to do now?" He spoke out loud, mulling over what else he could be doing. He pocketed the sword and decided to head towards the elevator. Perhaps he could check out one of the floors he hadn't explored yet.

He reached the elevator hall, called the elevator, and waited as the numbers slowly ticked down to floor 15. The elevator doors parted, and the occupant greeted him with cheery delight.

"Mister Graves! How can I help you on this fine evening?" Steward asked the guest, who entered the elevator and started examining the buttons.

"Do you have any advice as to what floor I should visit? I'm kinda bored at the moment."

"May I suggest the Unnatural History Museum? We have a caveman ghost as part of the exhibits."

"Oooh, caveman ghost. That sounds useful. Lead the way, Steward." He told the bellhop ghost, who pressed the 9th floor button. "Oh, and after you drop me off, could you do this one little thing for me? I need you to take my car and park it in a nice, secluded spot where no one can find it."

"Of course, sir. Anything for our guest."

* * *

**A short one this time, but I'll make up for it by working on the next chapter now rather than after posting something else.**

**Up next: The ghosts run an investigation and make a plan.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Plan

**Chapter 6: The Plan**

**And here is the 6th part. Getting closer to the end.**

**Luigi's Mansion 3 is owned by Nintendo.**

When your employer happened to be a scientist specializing in the paranormal, and you happened to be a ghost, then you were likely to have been inside E. Gadd's lab for one of his many experiments at some point. It was annoying, yes (and just the slightest bit disturbing,) but the professor paid them decently enough. Plus, he had even given Steward his first day off in the many years he had worked at the hotel (poor guy didn't even _know_ what a break was,) which made him a drastic improvement over Hellen in their eyes.

Point being, a lot of the hotel staff had become familiar with some of the professors inventions over the course of the month. And one of those inventions was what the ragtag group needed to complete their investigation. At least according to Serpci.

Said group was currently floating in front off the door to the lab, watching as Nikki dug inside her hat for something: the key. The professor had the audacity of ghost-proofing the door and walls of the lab, so the ghosts had to actually open the door, like mortals!

Nikki pulled out a magazine labeled _"The Secrets to Running a Bridal Boutique, by Waluigi,"_ only to toss it aside. "That's Kruller's book." She pulled out a miniature statuette of herself. "Oh, I was wondering where that ended up." She put in her pocket and dug into the hat once more, pulling out a key ring full of keys. "Got it!" She handed it over to Clem.

"Ya sure Steward won't notice?" He asked as he started checking the keys for the one to the lab.

"Nah, no one ever does. Me and my sisters do it all the time with you guys, and you've never noticed."

Deciding to ignore that chilling detail, the ghosts watched as Clem pulled out a key with the professor's distinct emblem decorating the bow. He slotted the key into the keyhole and unlocked the lab door, and then stared at the handle.

"Any a ya'll now how ta open a door again?"

"It's got one of those handles, so I think ye pull it down and push. That's what the professor said at the meeting, right?" Fishook said.

Clem simply followed the captain's steps and succeeded at the now alien art of door opening. They all entered the lab of the professor, which was full of papers and foam coffee cups scattered all over the floor. A bookcase containing a wide variety of books, folders and magazines on everything paranormal sat next to a wall of containment chambers. The professor's Pixelator lay on the other side of the room, a panel at the bottom open, and a toolcase laying next to it. A sign of the professor's attempts to fix the machine. And sitting next to the Pixelator was the object of the ghost's search: the Parascope.

"Dr. Potter, you've collaborated with the professor a few times. Do you know how to use this?" Serpci asked the botanist ghost.

"Yeah, I had to help him with that herbal ghost ointment idea of his. Something about branching out towards beauty products to boost income, or something. Heck if I care." The doctor said as he fiddled with the Parascope, activating it and watching as it booted up. "We need a sample first. The professor measured our spectral energies while we were in his Containment Unit, but he explained to me that it can work with even the smallest piece of ghost matter, like a hair."

"Alright, I have a plan for that." MacFrights started. "First, I will challenge him to a sword fight, ta prove who of us is the most skilled warrior, then- "

"No need, I have a clump of hair right here." Nikki interrupted as she pulled out a bunch of hairs from her pocket. She noticed the stares the other were giving her. "What? We wanted to get Kruller a gift. No strings attached."

"Yeah. Sure." Potter simply grabbed the ghostly hair strands and deposited them inside the Parascopes Ghost Matter Receptacle. The machine wirred to life as it started to run calculations, numbers flashing on the screen revealing details about the guest. Right now, it revealed his Spectral Health of 350.

"Aye, that's a decent amount of health." MacFrights commented out loud. He started to snicker and bumped Serpci's shoulder with his own. "Heh, remember when we found out Johnny's?"

"Oh, yes. I just loved how flustered he looked when the Professor said the number out loud."

"Ya know what I found weird?" Fishook piped up. "That Gloria somehow had more health than me. I'm at least a few hundred years old, and she's still more durable than me!"

"Because she has energy, Fishook."

"Umm, could we get on with the important stuff, Miss Serpci?" Nikki interrupted the trio's conversation.

"Oh, right! Let me see." The queen examined the display panel, trying to see what would be most likely to help prove her hunch. "Hmmm, Potter? Is there a way to tell a ghosts age with this?" She turned to the botanist and asked him.

"Yeah, hang on." He fiddled with the Parascope, swiping the display screen until it landed on a screen labeled "Spectral Age." He pushed the analyze button and stepped back as the ghosts watched the number tick up…

And up…

And up…

The number was still ticking up.

The ghosts simply stared numbly as the counter continued to tick, with Clem piping up with his thoughts on the matter. "Huh… Well ain't that interestin?"

* * *

Steward whistled happily as he drove the guest's car across the valley, looking for a good place to park it away from prying eyes. At no point did it cross his mind to question why he was asked to do this. Why question the orders of their most important guest? He was going to save the hotel somehow, so pleasing him every step of the way was necessary for success.

The bellhop drove over a bump in the road, causing the car the shake heavily. But was Steward's hearing fooling him, or did he just hear a thump coming from the back seat? He watched through the dividers window to see the seats completely empty. Where did that sound come from?...

Eh, probably something in the trunk. Maybe a toolbox or something. Steward decided to ignore the sound and continue the drive. The guest needed to be pleased, of course. Nothing would get in the way of that.

* * *

The ghosts stared at the screen of the Parascope, the number 2300~ displayed on it.

"Huh. This guys almost as old as you, lass." Fishook nudged the queen, who had a look of concentration on her face, as if she was trying to remember something.

"But that doesn't make any sense. Ghoulanu Graves died like 8 years ago? How can he be that old? Was he a ghost all along and no one ever noticed?" Nikki said.

As the others talked amongst each other, Serpci glared at the number, her suspicions fully supported by what the Parascope revealed.

"The reason that our current V.I.P. is so old is because he's not who he says he is." The other ghosts turned to the queen; their attention being grabbed by what she was saying.

"You, uh, care ta explain this to us, lass?" Fishook asked.

"Well, to do that, I need to explain some details of my past."

"Oooooh, you're finally gonna reveal your dark secrets to us?"

"No, Nikki, this is something else."

"Awww."

* * *

"You see, sometime after my death, I had developed the habit of leaving my tomb every few years to oversee my kingdom, to ensure that my people remained safe after my passing."

_Serpci greeted her people, watching as they took a moment off their day to bow before her presence. She blew a kiss to one of the bowing women, who fainted at the sight of her former queen noticing her._

"Once I saw that things were well, and that I wasn't needed, I would head back to my tomb and sleep for another few years. Rinse and repeat."

"And what does this have ta do with the Graves fella?"

"I'm getting there Clem."

_Several years later, Serpci was once again overseeing her kingdom. But something was off about everyone._

"On one very memorable occasion, I had woken up to my people behaving very strangely. Friendly, personable, and just a bit out of it, constantly speaking about how great their new ruler was."

"I think I see where this is going. That was around the time Alexander the Great took over, correct?"

"Yes. How do you know this?"

"Because apparently, I'm the only person in this hotel who ever went to college."

"…Okay then. Now, where was I?"

_Serpci glared hatefully at the statue of the current ruler of her kingdom. His bearded face and smug look mocked her._

"I ruled independently over my own part of the kingdom, and apparently this man had come along and charmed his way into a position of leadership. He took _my _kingdom and had the audacity of plastering his face all over the place."

_She saw the man just wandering around __**her**__ kingdom, chatting with __**her**__ people, like he owned the place._

"I found and confronted the man and learned that his name was Julius. He called himself a benevolent ruler. Even tried to use his little skill on me."

"But it didn't work?"

"Are you doubting my ability to resist manipulation, MacFrights?"

"We were all brainwashed by King Boo, lass."

"… Ok, he almost succeeded, but I shook it off not long after. During that little brainwashed period, he was overconfident enough to explain to me how he was using his little 'gift' to conquer kingdoms for his ruler, and how he was planning to usurp him by enthralling everyone into his loyal servants."

_Julius was sound asleep in his bedroom, unaware of the ghostly presence glaring at him from the other side of the room._

"I took care of him in the way most commonly used by us royals. I snuck into his room while he was sleeping, pulled out a dagger- "

_Serpci drove the dagger into the man's chest, watching with a cold stare as the life drained away from his face._

"-and stabbed him. His little spell wore off, people celebrated my heroism, the old ruler returned to the throne and promised to fight back against the invaders, and I went back to sleep for a job well done."

* * *

"But it turns out the bastard came back as a ghost and took the place of our guest, didn't he?" MacFrights pointed out, to which Serpci confirmed with a nod.

"I had my suspicions ever since he mentioned my name in the elevator. Everything else that has happened with the others helped fuel it." Serpci said.

"Ok, so let me see if I get it." Nikki started pacing around, trying to connect all of the dots. "So, the Ghoulanu Graves that's currently staying at our hotel is not the real one, but an old enemy from your past that turned into a ghost after dying, made it all the way to our time, disguised himself as Ghoulanu Graves and is brainwashing everyone in the hotel for some weird, sinister purpose?"

"Yes, that's pretty much the gist of it all."

Nikki's face morphed into one of anger. "Then that means he brainwashed my sisters! Who does that guy think he is, trying to take advantage of my sisters? I'm the only one who's allowed to do that!" She started making her way to the door, developing a particularly evil revenge prank in her head. "Clem, where can I get the uranium rods?"

"Now, young lady, a prank ain't gonna be enough for this feller." Clem simply grabbed the magician and stopped her in her tracks. "Ah don't think even the uranium rods are gonna be enough. We need a plan of attack."

"And a plan of attack we will have. Thanks to me, of course." MacFrights started to pace around the floors with his hands behind his back, already in full Warrior-King Mode. "We will need a way to capture the man, of course. But to do that, we need Luigi's ghost sucking machine, and he's not here. Otherwise, the bastard will just reform somewhere else if we destroy him normally. We can't use the gooey one either since he was in the sucking machine when Luigi and the professor left." He turned to the other ghosts, pointing at them. "Any suggestions?"

As they all tried to brainstorm a plan, ranging from "eating him," to "bury him in several tons of sand," Potter took the time to survey the room. His eyes landed on the busted Pixelator, and an imaginary lightbulb lit up above his head.

"We could fix the Pixelator and call Luigi over here!" His suggestion was meant with resounding nods from everyone. "Clem!" The mechanic stood at attention. "Do you think you can fix this thing?"

The sewer mechanic stuck his head inside the machine, trying to make sense of its complexity. "Hmm, Ah think Ah can, but I'll need the schematics of this thing ta understand it all."

"Then it's settled." MacFrights proclaimed. "While you, Nikki and Potter remain here to fix this machine, the rest of us will lead the charge and confront this Julius fellow and maintain his attention until Luigi arrives. Understood?" A chorus of affirmation resounded through the room, and MacFrights pulled out his sword to lead the charge. "Good, now let's confront this man and take back what's rightfully ours."

The trio of king, queen and shark exited the room, after a few seconds of fumbling with the door handle. Nikki and Potter started rummaging through the bookcase in search of a schematic or instruction manual for the Pixelator, with Clem still inside the machine itself.

In the hallway on the way to the elevator, the intrepid trio discussed their strategy.

"We'll have to find out where he's gone to. From what I remember of him, he never liked staying in one place." Serpci pointed out.

"Then we just interrogate someone fer that information. I have a pretty good threat I've been saving up fer just this occasion." Fishook said, a hint of excitement creeping into his shark mug. When they reached the elevator hall, the captain had already spotted his quarry: a lone goob wandering out of the elevator. The goob turned around and took notice of the very threatening pirate shark baring his teeth at her. She didn't really give any indication of _being _threatened, though.

"Hello there, lassie. I got a question fer you. Where's this Graves fella I keep hearing about? And if yer thinking of even- "

"Oh, he's at the 9th floor. Unnatural History Museum. Can't miss it." The goob gave away the information with absolutely no resistance and continued her on merry way past the three ghosts and into the hallway. The captain visibly deflated at this, while Serpci shouted at the goob.

"Could you please pass by the professor's lab and tell the others that?"

"Sure thing, ma'am!"

After that anticlimactic debacle, the three filed into the elevator, pressed the 9F button, and waited as it made its way towards its destination. Serpci and MacFrights took notice of their friends deflated mood, clearly having wanted to properly threaten the goob.

"… So, what was your threat?" The captain immediately cheered up when MacFrights asked the question.

"And if yer thinking of even lying to me face, then I'll make sure that ye have ta feel yer way around the room fer the rest of yer life!"

"Aye, a spin on the classic eye gouging threat, I see."

"Yeah, it's been a while since I get ta be threatening. It's the most fun part of being a pirate."

"I'm more partial to threatening people with snake pits or pouring copious amounts of sand into their mouths."

"To each their own."

* * *

**Next time, the confrontation is begun.**


	8. Chapter 7: The Confrontation

**Chapter 6: The Confrontation.**

**Due to college related time constraints, I've decided to split the finally in two. To make up for that, I'll post the second part next week friday.**

**Luigi's Mansion 3 belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

"Sooooo… does he ever wake up?" Ghoulanu asked as he stared at the main attraction of the Unnatural History Museum: the T-Rex exhibit, currently possessed by one(1) caveman ghost.

Well, that's what Chambrea said anyway.

"Yes, but his naps are a bit on the long side. Why don't you explore around the museum and I call you when he wakes up, sir?"

"Yeah, that's fine. It kinda throws a wrench into my plans, but I'm ok with that." He said as he started to leave the main exhibit hall. The maid was confused for a moment, and she asked him something.

"Can I ask you what this plan of yours _is_ sir?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about. Just call me when he's up." Ghoulanu waved dismissively at the maid as he tried to leave the hall…

Only to bump into someone standing in his way. When he recovered, he tried to yell at the culprit, only to have to look up to see Serpci looming over him, a deadpan look on her face that did not at all hide her menacing intentions.

"Serpci! I didn't know you were here. Sorry about bumping into you. You must be so offended that someone as lowly as me would stand in the way of- "

"Cut the crap,_ Julius_, I know it's you." Serpci interrupted, spitting out his real name in a venomous tone.

Julius, shocked at how quickly she had found out who he was, tried to come up with an excuse or an alibi to prove her wrong. It didn't take long for him to give up that endeavor and address the queen with a smug tone of voice. "Ugh, you figured that out that soon. What, couldn't forget my pretty face?"

"Hardly. In fact, seeing your face contort into one of terror as you bled to death is one of my more enjoyable memories."

Julius shuddered at that part.

"Now, explain. Why are you here?"

As Julius backed away from the angry queen, examining his surroundings for anything he could use to his advantage, he took notice of a very confused Chambrea staring at the confrontation going on in front of her.

"Uh, Chambrea! Why don't you go upstairs and tell the others about what's happening down here! And have some of them look for any stragglers that I haven't met, yeah?" He shouted at her, and the maid, still trying to process everything, nodded numbly and flew upwards into the next floor. He turned back to look at Serpci, confused when he sees that she was still glaring at him. "You, uh, not gonna do anything about that?"

"I trust in Chambrea to figure it all out before she reaches the others. Now," From the hall behind Serpci, a positively gigantic serpent made of sand slowly slithered into view, stopping behind the queen to let out a very loud and very angry sounding hiss at the cornered imposter. "Explain!" She demanded.

Once he realized that he was well and truly cornered, the imposter ghost sighed to himself and began his explanation. "Alright. Where do you want me to start? Like, from when I died, or before the whole hotel thing?"

The sand snake hissed at him, a clear representation of Serpci's opinion on the question.

"Beginning it is!"

* * *

"Ok, so, ever since you stabbed me in my bed and left me to die, thanks for that by the way, I woke up to find myself as a ghost."

_Julius stared at his now transparent, purple colored hands, nodding in approval to his newfound state._

"Pretty much the best outcome you could get from dying. I tried to take over the place when you went back to sleep again, but pretty much everyone made sure to avoid me and not listen to a word I said, which basically made my whole shtick useless.

_He started to wander the desert, looking back at the kingdom in anger._

"So, I left the place and started floating around, explore the world and figure out some stuff."

_A few years later, he came across a kingdom of stone castles reaching all the way up and beyond the clouds._

"I ended up finding another kingdom, and I thought "hey, why not take it over and see how well that goes."

_He lurked in the shadows, chatting up passersby and enthralling them with his voice one by one, causing them to slowly drop what they were doing to tend to his needs._

"They were apparently trying to fight some 'Lord of Lightning' or something along those lines, and as I was about to completely take over,"

_The tower that Julius had his eyes on was blasted by a surge of lightning coming from the Ruined Dragon's mouth._

"This giant dragon, which the kingdom was apparently trying to fight, showed up and destroyed everything. There were no survivors."

_Julius stared at the carnage in front of him, the fruits of his labor rendered worthless by the destruction of the kingdom that he was technically responsible for._

"And I loved every part of it."

_A smile started to grow on his face as he looked over the remains of the kingdom_

"Seeing the whole place be destroyed made me realize what I could have been doing with my power all along! At first, I just wanted people to worship me, and I still do actually. But that day showed me that I could just as easily destroy a kingdom with them."

* * *

"So, I travelled the world for the next two thousand years, taking over kingdoms and making them destroy themselves. And let me tell you those were the most enjoyable two thousand years I've ever had." Julius finished with a smile on his face.

Serpci looked at the man in front of her in disgust. To think someone would go about their powers by using it to destroy everything for their own enjoyment was something that would make even the most evil of overlords shudder in disgust.

"And I guess you plan to do the same with the hotel?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Ever since I heard about what happened with this King Boo guy, I decided that this place could be my next target. Problem is, you lived here as I found out, so I needed a disguise. And what do you know, I break into some celebrity actors house and I find out I look a lot like him. So, I knock him out, dress up in his clothes, change my style and study up on him so I could come to this hotel without anyone knowing who I am." Julius said with his hands behind his head, affecting an aura of smugness. "Sure, you figured things out pretty damn fast, probably because I said your name in the elevator earlier today, but it doesn't matter anyway. I got a pretty good chunk of this hotel under my control, so, all I have to do is get you and your little friends under my control, and then I'll have my own personal army of undead to help me destroy the Mushroom Kingdom!"

Serpci's reaction was to thrust her hand forward, causing the giant sand snake to move at an alarming speed and wrap itself around Julius. Making a fist with said hand and tightening it, the snake began to crush its prey as it hung its open maw over him.

"Hmph, all I heard in that little spiel of yours is that you're a terrible person who deserved to die."

The snake bit down on Julius and trashed him around, before flinging him into one of the marble pillars of the museum. As he slid down it, Serpci guided her creation to his position.

"But I'll admit to my mistakes, if I hadn't killed you, you wouldn't have become a ghost."

Julius tried to get up, only to be slammed down by the snake's tail.

"You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't because of me."

Serpci floated over to the conquerors squashed form and hoisted him upward by the neck so she could look him in the eye.

"I should have stayed for longer so that I could finish the job."

Julius watched as the sand snake glared at him from behind Serpci, baring its fangs as it prepared to strike.

"But you know what they say, better late than never." She said as she glared at the man, before holding him further away from her body so that her creation could smash him into the ground again. A shout coming from the other side of the room took her attention away, however.

Before Serpci could react, a Hammer slammed into her, knocking Julius out of her grip and dragging her all the way into a supply closet. The Hammer grabbed the still startled queen, opened the door, tossed her inside, and slammed it closed, laying on it to ensure that the captured queen could not open it.

The sand snake, after a few seconds of not moving, dissolved into a pile of sand, its creator no longer around to control it or to keep it in its snake inspired shape. Julius shook his head as he witnessed this, coming to from the nasty beating that Serpci gave him.

"Owwwwwww. What took you so long?" He groaned out as he held his head.

"I was in the bathroom, sir. Sorry bout that."

"Ugh, well just, oof, keep blocking that door until I can talk to her. Clear things up, you know." Julius said as he straightened his body. "Hopefully the maid's told the others to look for any stragglers, cause I could really use some backup." He looked at the giant pile of sand, shuddering at the beatdown he got. What he didn't see before he started to float away was the sand pile starting to move around.

Feeling like he should examine the sand pile closer, Julius turned around to see as Captain Fishook lunged out of it, his chompers aimed right for his head. Julius had just enough time to drop down on the floor, barely dodging the pirates surprise attack.

Fishook scraped his hook on the museum floor as he turned around to address his prey. "Hello, laddie. We saw that little spectacle our lady friend did, and we'd just _love_ to have a little slice of it."

Before Julius could even react to this, a second form burst from the sand, galloping towards him, lifting him up from the ground with his lance, and launching him to the other side of the room.

"Believe us when we tell ya that we don't take kindly ta intruders in our hotel, ya lying knave." King MacFrights proclaimed, having possessed his suit of armor for just the occasion.

The two slowly approached the recovering Julius, baring manic grins as they did so. Julius shook his head clear, grabbed one of the bones from the exhibit he was laying next to, and brandished it as a makeshift weapon. "I guess this is what I get for only planning for Serpci. Enough playing dumb then." He blocked a hook slash from Fishook with the bone. "Let's dance!"

* * *

"Damnit, Carl! Release me this instant!"

"No way, ma'am! We need this guys help and he says you guys want to hurt him."

Serpci slammed her fist on the door one last time before giving up, groaning loudly as she straightened out her hair. It was a good thing Fishook had suggested they hide in her sand construct in case something like this happened, though she will admit, she didn't think Julius had planned that far ahead. But now she was stuck in a closet due to her own overconfidence.

Note to self, make sure Fishook and MacFrights don't tell the others about this.

Once she was composed, she began to examine the closet she was stuck in to see if there was anything useful she could use. She didn't know nearly enough about cleaning supplies to replicate what the triplets had done that time. She had proclaimed that she was too regal to wield melee weapons (MacFrights ranted at her for two hours for that) so she couldn't use the brooms and mops for anything. She could ask Gloria for help, since she was sitting on a bucket at the back of the closet with her arms crossed, but she wanted to try and solve the problem without help…

Wait a minute.

"Gloria, what are you doing here?" She asked the DJ.

"Oh, nothing. Just got thrown into a closet by Carl. How are you?"

"I'm trying to take down the bastard that brainwashed everyone in the hotel, if _Carl would let me out to do that!_"

"I'm not gonna let you out unless you promise to not hurt the guest!"

"Hnnnnngggghhhh!" Serpci groaned out in pure frustration, banging her fist on the door repeatedly. Gloria, meanwhile, had a realization.

"Oooooohhhh, so that's what happened to everyone else! I was wondering why they were acting so weirdly."

The queen stopped banging on door and stared at the DJ in confusion. "Wait, you haven't been brainwashed? But you and Kruller went to see him after Morty's tour? He talked to you?"

"I might have zoned out when he said something about Alexander the Great. I still don't get what that's a reference to, anyway."

"I can explain that."

* * *

"I found the thing!" Nikki triumphantly held up the object of their search: a hardcover book with an illustration of E. Gadd explaining something to a cross eyed Luigi, labeled _Pixelators for Dummies_.

She handed the book over to Clem, and the mechanic began to quickly leaf through it to find the desired page. His inspection revealed that one of the couplings had somehow broken, separating one of the tubes. If his mechanical know-how told him anything, it's that he needs to weld it back together, and the book would likely prove it.

Potter, meanwhile, was floating back and forth while staring at the door. A goob had passed by to explain to them where the others had gone, apparently at Serpci's request, and he was nervous that the ghost was going to blab to the brainwashed residents about their location.

"Oh, calm down Mister Potter." The magician tried to calm down the botanist in her usual way, that is rudely. "You know the goobs are about as smart Mister Deepend. She probably forgot about our little meeting already."

"… Yeah, you have a point." The botanist was still calmed down by Nikki's words. "Have you found anything yet, Clem?"

"Nope, this darn thing don't have a page of contents. Gimme a few minutes, Ah gotta look through the whole book."

A bang on the door to the lab put an end to the calm. Nikki, Clem and Potter were startled by this. The botanist floated towards the door and peaked through the window to see Johnny Deepend preparing to bang on the door again, an army of assorted ghosts and the other brainwashed staff members floating behind him.

"Yo, Potter! Guest wants to speak with you and the others!" The swimmer shouted.

The three ghosts in the lab could only stare at each other in fear, having realized that their cover was blown. Potter signaled Clem to keep searching the book, while he cleared his throat and addressed the group outside.

"Oh, sorry, Johnny, we can't right now! The professor asked us to do something in his lab, and we simply _have _to finish it now!"

"But he's our V.I.P!" Morty shouted from his place in the group. "He's the one who will save our hotel! You must meet him!"

Shuddering at Morty's uncharacteristically undramatic sentence, Nikki took her shot at appeasing the group. "Yeah, sorry, Morty! But the boss is kinda more important than a V.I.P. Hierarchy and stuff, you know?"

"Aw, come on, sis!" Either Ginny or Lindsey shouted. "Is this because you're still angry that he insulted your act? Maybe you should learn to take constructive criticism instead of running off and whining about things"

Potter had to clamp Nikki's mouth shut, preventing the middle triplet from launching into a tirade defending her ego. "Look, it's the Professors orders! We can't just ignore it just because the guest says so."

"Well sorry, bros, but the Professor isn't gonna be the boss anymore, Mr. Graves is! We'll just have to take you to him by force!"

Nikki and Potter backed away from the door the moment Johnny slammed into it. The door didn't budge in the slightest, and after a few seconds, Johnny was heard from the other side.

"Uh, does anyone remember how to open a door?"

Seizing the chance, Potter quickly rummaged through his jacket pocket and tossed a few seeds onto the floor in front of the door. Pulling out his trusty watering can, he watered the seeds and stood back as they grew and covered the door in a wall of vines.

Just in time too, since Kruller could be heard shouting "Oh! Try pulling the handle!" and the door bumped into the thick blockade of vines. "Oh, come on! Did you guys really just block the door?" The ghosts continued to try and force their way into the room, the banging of someone trying to smash it in startling the lab occupants.

"Gah! Clem! Hurry up with that book!"

* * *

Fishook trashed around the museum floor, trying to buck off a clinging Julius off his body. When he suddenly stood still, Julius saw MacFrights charge towards them, aiming to knock him off the shark. In that split second, he managed to pull on Fishook's fin, causing him to arc upwards and take a lance to the face.

Having jumped off the shark, Julius watched as the Captain recovered from the hit and glared at MacFrights, before turning to glare at him and diving into the floor. MacFrights started to gallop around the floor, preparing himself for his next attack.

"You guys are kinda bad at this whole tag team thing! Just saying!" Julius said as he tried to pay attention to both the floor and MacFrights. He turned around just in time to smack Fishook in the face when he lunged at him from the floor.

MacFrights saw his opening, hooking Julius on his lance while he was distracted, twirling him around and flicking him into a pillar. "Aye, we don't really get the chance often ta fight people together. But it's still two against one." He saw his target turn invisible, like the coward he was.

Fishook sniffed the air as he tried to get the scent of Julius. "What is taking the lassie so long to get out, anyway?" He complained as he did so, staring at the hammer that was blocking the supply closet door. He and MacFrights _would_ go deal with that one, but they couldn't risk letting Julius sneak away.

"Hah!" Fishook lunged towards the exhibit closest to the exit, causing Julius to become visible…

And to thrust a bone in between Fishook's teeth, jamming his mouth open. The shark trashed about, trying to get the bone out of his mouth while Julius laughed at him and grabbed another bone. "Hah! That should keep you out of the fight for a good while." He turned to MacFrights and pointed the bone at the king, challenging him. The king shouted a battle cry before charging at his opponent, the other responding in kind by charging as well.

* * *

"-And we are trying to keep him distracted until Clem can fix the Pixelator and summon Luigi to capture him." Serpci finished her explanation, now leaning on the door after having found nothing of use in the closet.

"Huh, so that explains why Wolfgeist was being so weird." Gloria said. When she heard Serpci make a little confused grunt, she decided to elaborate. "Yeah, I went to Wolfgeists floor because he didn't show up to gloat about how he was gonna win the bet. You remember that, righ?"

"Yes, I do."

* * *

"Oh, good. Anyway, I went to his floor, I enter his auditorium and I see him playing the piano with a _smile_ on his face. A smile!"

_Wolfgeist noticed the DJ enter his auditorium, and the pianist stopped playing for a second to greet her with a wave._

"It was the scariest thing I've seen in my entire life!"

_Gloria had a very disturbed look on her face as she waved back._

"I go talk to him, ask him how he's doing, how he felt about his chances for winning the bet, that kind of thing."

"_Ah, let's just drop that silly thing and simply agree that we are both great musicians."_ _The pianist said._

"The Wolfgeist I know would never, ever say something like that."

* * *

"So, I go talk to the guest, and he just puts me in the closet and tells me to wait for you. I've been waiting here ever since." Gloria finished.

"Wait, why did he tell you to wait for me?" Serpci asked.

"Eh, something about you hating my music. I didn't believe him, but I decided to wait here anyway. And here you are now." Gloria got up from her bucket. "Now let's get out of here so I can watch you beat up that… guy." She faltered when she saw, for just a quick second, Serpci flinch about something. That was a very rare occurrence when it came to the pharaoh ghost, and it only ever happened when she was caught lying about something. "Hey, is something wrong."

"Oh, nothing. Everything is perfectly fine, and Julius is a filthy liar." The queen said casually. Gloria was not fooled in the slightest.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"No! No. You know I don't hide anything from you my beloved! Now help me open this door, if you would?" Serpci said as she started to push on the door nervously.

Inside the head of the DJ, a record needle was slowly lowering onto the vinyl disc underneath. When Gloria put two and two together, the record needle landed on the disc, and Gloria snapped her fingers. "You don't like my music, don't you?"

The very awkward smile on Serpci's face confirmed the DJ's suspicions, and she put her hands on her hips and addressed her girlfriend. "Yeah, we're not leaving until we've talked about this."

"But- "

"No buts, if we do this later, then you'll just try to delay this until I forget about it."

* * *

Ug was _trying _to sleep, as nice clean lady had told him. An important man had come here, and clean lady wanted Ug to leave important man alone, so Ug decided to sleep. But there was a lot of noise in his territory, and it was getting on Ug's nerves.

Ug opened his eyes, and he saw as shark man and small beard man were fighting another beard man right in front of him. Small beard man was in his armor trying to stab other beard man with pointy metal stick, but it looked like shark man was making it difficult, since shark man was being moved around by other beard man to block pointy metal stick attack. Shark man was chewing other beard mans bone club, and Ug saw as shark man get's a good grip on the bone and flings other beard man away.

The shark man turns around, and shakes his head when he sees Ug staring at them. Then the shark man speaks to Ug.

"Oi! Ug! Yer finally awake! Come help us get rid off this intruder!" The shark man told him. Ug thought about it. If he remembered correctly, shark man and small beard man were friends with clean lady, so he should help them. On the other hand, other beard man could be the very important man clean lady told him not to bother.

"No! Don't listen to them! I'm the V.I.P. guest! The important man!"

Oh, other beard man _was_ very important man! Well, Ug always listened to clean lady, so he was gonna do nothing about this and leave other beard man alone.

"Bah! You're not a V.I.P! You are a filthy impostor!"

Wait, very important man was not very important man? Ug confused.

"Hey, don't listen to them! You're a smart caveghost! You can figure out that I'm the guy you should be helping!"

Everybody flinched when they heard the T-Rex skeleton growl. Ug was getting very annoyed. Should Ug help shark man and small beard man in fighting other beard man, even if the man was probably important man? Or should Ug help important man fight clean ladies' friends? It all make Ug very confused.

The T-Rex slammed its tail on one of the pillars, destroying it.

Ug annoyed!

It started to trash around, causing the pole that was holding it up to bend and creak…

Ug! Angry!

The pole broke off, releasing the T-Rex from its restraint. It stomped towards the three clashing ghosts, who now realized how screwed they all were.

"Ah poop." They all said simultaneously. Ug responded by roaring in the air, which could be heard across the entire hotel.


	9. Chapter 8: The Conclusion

**Chapter 8: The Conclusion**

**Sooo... You might be wondering why this is late. You see, due to college stuff, I ended up running late and didn't have the story finished for it's original date. So, I decided that I would spend a little extra time, postpone the story for Sunday to give myself more time and finish the story on Friday. Thing is, Microsoft Word started freaking out on me, I end up making multiple files for the story, and in deleting the excess, I end up deleting the original.**

**So, yeah.**

**Anyway, at the very least the next chapter is the last, so enjoy what I've provided for you all.**

**Luigi's Mansion 3 belongs to Nintendo.**

* * *

"Found it!"

Potter and Nikki quit their nervous pacing to see Clem raise the book triumphantly above his head. The book was open to a page, labelled "Pixelator's and You," showing sketches of the inner workings of the machine.

The two ghosts floated over to Clem to watch him read the instructions out loud.

"Alright, in the event of catastrophic coupling destruction, remove the broken coupling, carefully install the new one, re-adjust all wiring and tubing according ta schematics, and weld the new coupling with a… Spectral Welding Torch?"

"Ok, what the hell is a Spectral Welding Torch?" The magician complained. Luckily, there was a footnote that led them to the page they needed to read, which was pretty much the only kind of organization and categorization in the damn book.

"The Spectral Welding Torch focuses ghostly energy into a powerful blast akin ta spectral fire and allows fer spectral energy ta properly flow through circuitry." Clem scratched his head as he realized something. "Didn't Steward say the boss left ta look fer this thing? How we gonna fix the thing without the thing?"

Potter nervously looked around for a any kind of solution, the endless banging of the door a constant reminder of the army of brainwashed coworkers trying to force their way in. If they didn't fix the Pixelator, then Luigi can't come to capture Julius, which meant that he could escape the other's grasp and get everyone under his control. Who knows what he could do with an army of undead.

As he looked around, his eyes landed on a nervous looking Nikki, and an idea started to form in his mind. Perhaps…

"Hey, Nikki, how does your magic work again?"

Nikki looked confused at the botanist's question. "Heck if I know? Lindsey keeps saying it's something about how we use our own ghostly energy… to… use…" She trailed off as she slowly realized what the botanist was implying. Pulling out her wand, she stared at the tip of it, focusing her energy into it and visualizing the kind of flame she usually saw coming out of Clem's own welding torch.

The other two ghosts held their breath (somehow) as they watched Nikki, hoping for a miracle.

They all jumped when a flash of light came from the wand, stunning them briefly. A smile growing on her face, Nikki repeated the process a few more times, until finally, an intense, dark blue flame was emanating from the wand tip.

Potter and Clem applauded the magician, who started to give bows to her adoring audience. A loud bang that reminded them of the army trying to break in put an end to that very fast, and Clem started to drag the young ghost into the Pixelator.

"Alright little lady, just follow ma lead and we should be able to get this doodad fixed in no time. Ah hope."

As the two got to work, Potter stared nervously at the door. He had heard Amadeus scream in anger, and the banging intensified, to the point he could actually see the door budge. Hopefully they would be able to get Luigi to the hotel soon. And hopefully, the others at the museum floor were handling the situation down there well enough.

* * *

The situation was not being handled well at all.

Ug was rampaging around the museum floor, trying to squash anyone that he could get close to. This was a huge problem for Fishook and MacFrights, who had to juggle dodging the ghost possessed dinosaur _and _making sure Julius didn't escape.

And all the while, Julius was laughing jovially as he dodged the T-Rex's foot stomps, trying to lead Ug into squishing his enemies.

MacFrights charged towards the conqueror but had to veer off course when Ug's foot blocked his path.

"Quit hiding behind our coworker like a coward and fight us like men!" The king hollered at Julius.

"Nah, it's two against one! Give me a minute to chat with the dino and then the fight'll be fair!"

The king responded by charging at the conqueror once more but was too late to stop once he saw that Julius was smiling. He jumped out of the way, and before MacFrights knew it, a giant, bony foot crushed him, wrecking his armor and flattening him.

Fishook gasped at the sight of his friends squashed form. He glared at Julius with his one eye, dove into the ground and rushed towards his opponent.

Before Julius could react, Fishook lunged from underneath him, aiming to devour him whole. He tried his best to hold open his jaw, realizing the captain's plan when he saw Ug come towards them. He struggled to escape the maw of the pirate, who stared at the supply closet door, thinking "what's taking ye so long?"

He finally let go of Julius and dove back into the ground, while the conqueror desperately crawled out of the way of the T-Rex's stomp.

* * *

"-and that is why I've been lying about my opinion on your music." Serpci finished her explanation to Gloria, nervously twiddling her fingers as she tried to gauge the DJ's reaction. She had an unusually serious look on her face, and she thought she may have gone overboard in describing her music as "an endless cacophony of sounds," how it reminded her of the computer she was scared of using, to how she would have used it as a form of torturing war criminals.

Yeah, she may have gone a bit more than overboard.

The DJ, after mulling it over for a good few seconds, finally responded. "So, let me recap all this. You lied about what you thought about my mixes when we first met as a way to get closer to me,"

The queen nodded nervously.

"you agreed to test my music out every time I asked you,"

Another nod from the queen.

"And you kept up the ruse for all of the ten years we've known each other _and _the three we've been dating?"

Serpci gave one last nod before closing her eyes, dreading the reaction the DJ would have. Oh, she was going to end their relationship right here and now, wasn't she? Looks like it was time to return to her tomb and sleep for the next thousand years, waking up occasionally to grab snacks to deal with her depression while avoiding the presence of the woman she loved who would spend the rest of her unlife despising her-

"Don't beat yourself up, Serpci. It's my fault."

The queen let out a quiet "whut?" when she heard what Gloria said.

"I started off with the intense stuff too early. I shoulda shown you music that was closer to your taste. I never did take that into account, did I?" She asked Serpci, who awkwardly gave a "maybe?" gesture with her hand. "Yeah, I thought so."

An awkward silence befell the closet, occasionally being interrupted by the commotion outside.

"Hmm, hopefully the others have been handling Julius well without me." The queen said as she stared at the door. She turned to Gloria to address their situation. "Now, I understand that with what you've found out you no longer consider me worthy of being in a relationship with you."

"What? What made you think that?" The DJ questioned her. Serpci was confused by her reaction.

"It's just that I don't share in your love for what you call modern music. It's the thing you love the most, but I have the opposite opinion. Isn't that something that warrants breaking up?"

Serpci looked confused as Gloria did her best to suppress her laughter.

"Pfft, come on, babe, you're supposed to be the one with the braincell in the relationship." She said amidst her laughter. "Of course we're gonna have things we don't have in common. I mean, look at us! I'm a DJ, you're a queen. It's honestly surprising I managed to nab you as my girlfriend."

Her worries quelled, Serpci started to chuckle along with her beloved. She was worried over nothing. Smiling, she asked her. "So, do you forgive me?"

"Oh, no, not in the slightest."

Twice this night, Gloria confused Serpci. She was usually better at predicting the DJ's thought patterns.

"I'm still mad at you for lying to me for ten years straight. It doesn't mean we can no longer be together, it just means that you're going to have to work extra hard to make it up to me." She said as she gave the queen a peck on the cheek. "I'm thinking a back massage, treating me to dinner _and _you calling me "my queen" for the rest of the week should do the trick. How about that?"

"Hmm, if it will do the trick." Serpci said with a smile on her face. "Although you could just ask me to refer to you as queen whenever you like, you know."

"I know. But it's more fun when it's based on a punishment."

The two kissed each other before letting go, Gloria examining the door.

"Alright now, how do we get out so you can kick that Julius guys tail." She tapped her lip in thought, until an idea formed in her head.

Pulling out one of the many discs she kept hidden on her person, she showed it to Serpci. The queen saw the heat emanating from the disc, and immediately, Gloria's intentions were made clear to her.

* * *

Fishook flailed around the museum floor, Julius clinging to his fin as Ug chased them around. At some point in their skirmish, the man had latched on to his fin and tried to steer him into the path of Ug's rampage, and it was really starting to get on Fishook's nerves.

Suddenly, the captain performed a U-turn and charged towards Ug, fully intent on letting the caveman crush him along with the conqueror.

What ended up happening however was Fishook rushing past the T-Rex and crashing into one of the pillars. Julius was knocked off the shark's back, and when he recovered, he looked at Ug to see him staring at the hallway, foot still raised in the air. Following his line of sight revealed the reason for his behavior: Chambrea had returned, staring in confusion at the carnage that was the main exhibit hall.

Ug cheerfully waved his stubby T-Rex arms at the maid in greeting, her waving back slowly as she processed the scene in front of her.

"Chambrea! You made it!" Julius straightened out his hair, trying to approach her, but being stopped by a growl from Ug. "Did you tell the others what happened?"

"Uhm, yes, sir. I talked to one of our goob workers and she said that she knew where the other ghosts you haven't talked to were."

"Great! That's perfect. I see a big tip for you in your future. Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you please explain to Ug here how I've been relentlessly assaulted by these incredibly rude coworkers of yours." He pointed at Fishook, who was rubbing his nose in pain while glaring at him. He couldn't see MacFrights anywhere though. "And that he should deal with them instead of me, the innocent party."

The maid bit her lip in thought. Things have been so weird ever since their dear guest had arrived. But she couldn't remember what was so weird. All she could remember was talking to the guest about… something, and him reassuring and complimenting her on her work etiquette. Then again, the last time her coworkers ever acted this violently towards a guest was when they were all brainwashed by King Boo. So maybe they had been brainwashed and Julius was here to save them in the same way Luigi did? Did that make sense?

As she mulled it over, Ug sat down on the floor with a loud thud, earnestly waiting for Clean Lady to explain things to him. Julius sat down as well, letting the maid properly think things through. He had full thrust that his ability would not wear off on Chambrea, so he wasn't worried.

The maid's face slowly changed from one of confusion, to one of realization, and she walked up to Ug. "Ug, I need you…"

Julius smiled to himself as Chambrea explained to Ug who was on his side.

"To go after him." She pointed at Julius, who belatedly realized exactly what was happening right now. Just enough time for Ug to turn around and swipe him with his tail, flinging him directly into one of the remaining exhibits.

Trying to get up from the rubble, Julius heard the telltale shout of a charging scotsman. He saw MacFrights and Fishook materialize mid charge, the former riding on the latter's back. Suddenly, Fishook jammed his hook into the ground, causing him to stop abruptly and to fling the king into the air.

MacFrights pulled out a boneclub, raised it over his head, and let the laws of physics affect his ghostly body for once, allowing him to fly towards the would be conqueror, and letting him smash his face in with the club.

Huffing to regain his bread, he examined his handywork: one unconscious ghost laying beneath him. He turned towards the others, raised his bone club in the air, and shouted.

"ALL HAIL THE KING"

He basked in the applause that Chambrea and Ug were giving him. Fishook came over to give his congratulations, chuckling at the sight of the unconscious Julius.

"I'll tell ya, I never thought ye were actually going ta pull that off. Congratulations."

"That's what ya get for doubting me, my friend." He let the bone rest on the ground. "Ah do wish Serpci was there ta see it, though. Would have loved ta rub it in her face."

"Eh, ye can't always get what ya want." They wandered over to Chambrea and Ug. "So, ye finally broke out of his little spell, didn't ya?"

"Yeah. I had my suspicions, but when I thought about you guys being brainwashed, it got me thinking that maybe it was _me_ who was brainwashed, not you. I still don't understand why mister Graves is trying to take over the hotel."

"We'll explain it to ya in a moment. Now, let's get Serpci out of the closet again."

Their rescue attempt was interrupted when they heard the voice of Carl screaming in pain. They saw as the hammer ran into the hallway with his ghostly tail on fire, and turning around, they could see Serpci and Gloria wander out of the closet, the latter with a flaming disc in hand.

"And that's for breaking my Beatles record collection, Carl!" She yelled at the hammer, and without missing a beat, she turned to the others. "So, did we miss anything fun?"

"Nothin much. Just MacFrights actually backing up his claims fer once."

"Ya shoulda been here, I tell ya."

"Hmm, so you've taken care of him already." Serpci said while she stared at the unconscious body of her old enemy. "A shame, really. I wanted to throw him around a little more to impress my beloved. Oh well." She raised her hand in the air, causing the sand that was still in the room to gather beneath Julius, raising him high enough into the air to smash him into the roof, then lowering him down to show him dazed and inside a cage of sand.

"What took ya so long ta get out, anyway? Ya usually don't like missin out whenever we get ta fightin people?" MacFrights asked her.

"Oh, just some… minor relationship squabbles." She said while Gloria stood next to her, arm interlocked with hers and a smug smile on her face.

"I told ye this was gonna happen one day, lass. Just goes ta show, always listen when the pirate shark is giving ye relationship advice."

"Oh shush." The queen took notice of the maid she had put her trust on and approached her. "Ah, Chambrea. I see my faith in you wasn't misplaced. I always knew you would break out of his spell eventually."

"Oh, no need to thank me, ma'am." Chambrea said with a blush. "Although I did end up telling one of the goobs to go look for the others. I hope they haven't found them yet."

"Aye, it's no problem. While Fishook and I head out to rescue the lads, you can stay here and keep an eye on our prisoner until we can get him captured. Then, we'll break his foul spell and we will all celebrate." MacFrights said, and he and Fishook began to leave the main exhibit hall…

Only to stop in their tracks when they took notice of the massive ghost army in their path.

Ug would have gone ahead and stomped them down if Chambrea didn't tell him to stop. Brainwashed or not, these were their coworkers and guests, they couldn't just attack the people they've known for so long.

"Everyone, please listen to me!" Serpci took charge to address the situation. "I understand that this may look suspicious but know this: the one you're trying to rescue is not Ghoulanu Graves! He is an imposter who has infiltrated our home for his own nefarious reasons!"

The ghosts stared at each other in confusion, but her speech did not change their opinions.

"No way, ma'am. That's our new boss now. Please hand him over immediately."

With no other option that wouldn't result in having to attack their brainwashed cohorts, Serpci lowered Julius' sand prison, letting the dazed villain float over towards the crowd of ghosts. Once he was safe behind them, he spoke.

"Alright, this has been a minor setback. You might have had me there for a second, but at the end of the day, you guys have no way to capture me. Let that be a lesson to you all that you should never mess with those that are superior to you." He told the currently cornered ghosts, who slowly backed away from the encroaching armada. "Anyway, I have some business to do now, so why don't you guys keep them locked up all safe and sound so I can have a little "talk" with them later."

Satisfied with how things were finally going as planned, Julius had a satisfied smirk on his face. All he had to do now was meet up with the ones who got away from his little spell, and he could finally have the army necessary to invade the Mushroom Kingdom. Julius sighed in satisfaction as he pictured the carnage he could cause, and he turned around to make his way towards the elevator…

Only to come face to face with a trembling green plumber and his fully charged strobulb aimed at the ghost's face.

"Oh."

Luigi flashed the ghost, stunning him. And just as quickly, he latched onto the him with the poltergusts nozzle and proceeded to drain what little HP Julius still had. The beating he had received had weakened him drastically, and he could only struggle for a few seconds before his health was fully depleted. His lower half was sucked in, Julius holding out on the nozzle to push himself out.

"Wait, wait! I'm not finishe-" The conqueror was absorbed into the poltergust, bringing an end to his evil plans at last.

Luigi stared as the ghosts stared at their surroundings in confusion, the spell wearing off at last. He raised the poltergust triumphantly into the air and shouted.

"Haha, I did it!"

* * *

**In the epilogue, our heroes make a discovery that may just save the hotel. See you all then.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Solution

**Chapter 9: The Solution**

**The ending of my first ever, full length, multi chapter story. I'm glad you guys ended up enjoying this, and I promise that anything else I come up with is even better than this story. Pinky promise.**

**Luigi's Mansion 3 is owned by Nintendo.**

* * *

The doors to the hotel parted open as Steward returned from his own little adventure. For whatever reason, he had helped the guest hide his car as far away from the hotel as possible, and he could not fathom the reasoning as to why anyone would want to do that. Plus, his memories were a little hazy ever since he talked to the guest. He had questions, and he wanted answer, and he was going to (politely) ask for them.

"Stewy! There you are!" Kruller immediately grabbed him into a hug that would have crushed his bones. You know, if he still had them. "I was worried sick!"

With no way to escape the clutches of the security guard, Steward simply listened to him ramble about how their guest turned out to be some sort of ancient conqueror from Serpci's time who had come to the hotel to brainwash the residents and transform them into an army to wipe out the Mushroom Kingdom. Once he finished processing the information provided, and he was let go from the hug, did he respond.

"This is the second time we've been brainwashed. Is this going to be theme now? Every few months, some maniac shows up to our hotel for some insane reason and brainwashes everyone?"

"Well, if it helps, Clem, Potter and Nikki managed to get Luigi back here and captured the bad guy, so the hotel is safe." Kruller's smile dropped as he saw that the bellhop was not cheered up by this.

"Yeah, except since the guy wasn't our "special celebrity guest," our hotel is still in trouble. In a few weeks, we're gonna be out of a job." Steward drooped over, letting depression take over.

With the mood ruined, Kruller led Steward to the lounge, where the other ghosts were recovering from the events of the night.

"…and that's how I was singlehandedly responsible for saving all of your butts. You're welcome." Nikki boasted about her actions to her sisters, who's faces showed that they were not buying her embellishments.

MacFrights was regaling some of the ghosts about his actions in the battle against Julius, similarly embellishing his story like the middle triplet did. Johnny Deepend and Ug were at the front of the group, listening intently like young children listening to a fairy tale.

Soulfflë and Amadeus were complaining to Chambrea about being brainwashed again, the pianist seeming more offended by the fact that he had complimented Gloria's music than anything else. The maid simply nodded along and signaled the chef to start airing his grievances when Wolfgeist was finished.

Fishook and Serpci were overseeing the groups, checking on everyone and making sure that the spell had worn off on everyone. Signs pointed to yes.

And Gloria and Morty, who were chatting about how Morty was inspired by the whole event to make a movie about it, went over to greet the two arrivals.

"Yo, Steward, where've you been? Ya missed out on a crazy fight."

"We really have to check the security footage of the floor. I require it if I am to properly match the level of chaos and skill that MacFrights describes. Either way, where have you been indeed, Steward?"

"Sigh, I was told by the guest to drive his car and hide it somewhere in the woods outside." A look of thoughtfulness came to Stewards face. "I still wonder why he would want me to do that."

"Well, if movie logic is anything to go by, the guy probably had something in there he didn't want anyone to find. Why don't we go look for it and see what secrets he was trying to keep from us?" Gloria said, surprising everyone with insight. She noticed the look of confusion from everyone and got angry. "What? It's movie logic, anyone could have figured that out!"

Steward bit his lip as he thought out Gloria's suggestion. "Hmm, you do have a point. We're going to need Ug and Johnny, though."

"Why?" Kruller asked.

* * *

"So, huff, what made you think, huff, it was a good idea, huff, to drive a limo off a cliff?" Johnny huffed out as he and Ug struggled to lift the banged-up Limo up the cliff.

"Where else was I gonna hide it? I was brainwashed, I clearly wasn't thinking things through."

Once the limo was set up on the ground, and Ug pried the door off the car and threw it to the side without a care in the world, Kruller shined his flashlight inside of it, investigating for clue's. "Hmm, I don't see anything out of the ordinary in here. Stewy, did you happen to notice anything weird while you were driving?"

"Hmm… Oh! Yeah, I did. I heard a loud thud coming from the passenger area when I drove over a bump."

"Have you checked the cooler? I've been inside this brand of limo before, and I do believe that these tend to come with a hidden cooling compartment under the seats."

"Yeah, they always do. I used to keep wigs inside those things for the summer months."

Heeding Morty's suggestion, Kruller examined the chairs, feeling under the cushions until he could find one that would flip open. When his search bore in the form of one of the cushions shifting upwards with a click, he opened the cooler to find out what exactly Julius had been finding.

"Holy crap! Guys, you won't believe what I just found!"

Gathering around the limo in curiosity, everyone except Ug gasped when they saw what Kruller had in his hands: the unconscious form of celebrity actor Ghoulanu Graves!

* * *

"More tea, Mr. Graves?"

"Yeah, thank you lady." Graves accepted the beverage offered by the maid, sitting in the hotel lounge as he recovered from his two weeklong stint of being stuck inside a cooler. The hotel management managed to successfully clear up the confusion on who kidnapped him and had given him a full explanation of everything that had happened.

"Uhm, excuse us, sir." He turned to see a DJ, a mall cop, and the famous film director Morty approaching him nervously. "Can we have your autograph?" The DJ awkwardly presented a vinyl containing the soundtrack of the Matrix.

"Sure, anything for a fan." Writing his name on the vinyl, and then doing it for the mall cops' badge and the film directors reel of his favorite Ghoulanu Graves clips. He watched the odd group leave as they all giggled with each other like schoolgirls who just met their favorite celebrity. Well, probably because they did just meet him.

Once he felt he had recovered fully, he went over to talk to the one manning the receptionist desk, a fellow named Steward, who was rapidly sorting through the mail he had stopped organizing when he was brainwashed. He rung the bell to get the bellhops attention.

"Ah, Mr. Graves!" Steward said as he turned towards the celebrity. "Are you feeling better? I can guarantee you that our mechanic, Clem, will have it fixed by Monday, sir. Feel free to stay here and partake in the events we have organized, all for free, of course." Nervousness was clear in his voice.

"No need to bother yourself with that, we've all had a rough night. I called a cab that's gonna pick me up tomorrow morning, I'm just not feeling it tonight."

"Oh, that's perfectly understandable sir." Steward said with disappointment clear in his voice. "We'll be giving you a full refund for all of the expenses your impostor has made."

"Hey, speaking of impostors, whatever happened to that guy?"

"We managed to capture him. One of our VIP's managed to gather those of us who weren't under his control and managed to distract him long enough until they could rebuild a machine our owner had made. We used it to bring Luigi over here and he captured him-"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait. Luigi?"

Steward nodded in response, confusion clear on his face.

"THE Luigi, savior of Evershade Valley, the legendary ghosthunter Luigi?"

"Uhm, yes, he was the one who saved us in an incident we had just last month. We're good friends with him."

"Can I meet him? I'm a huge fan of his work!"

"Well, he just returned back to Evershade Valley, so he won't come back until Monday."

"Well consider my mind changed. Guess I'll stay here until he comes back. I've always wanted to get his autograph since I've heard of him."

Steward's mood, and the mood of those eavesdropping in on the conversation, was immediately raised by the actor's proclamation. He moved out from behind the reception desk and gestured towards the elevator. "Well why don't I show you to your room? You may have missed some of our organized events for today, but we still have plenty to do tomorrow."

* * *

With Graves' decision to stay at the hotel, the mood in the hotel had risen from gloomy to excited, especially since this one was the real deal. Their hopes of getting a good enough review to restore the hotel's reputation actually seemed to be in reach now and judging by how he was enjoying their organized events, it might have been even likelier.

MacFrights' jousting tournament was a spectacle, as it always tended to be. The King would often live up to the feats he so often boasted about in these tournaments, and they always ended up wowing his audiences. Ghoulanu was no different, clapping enthusiastically as MacFrights bowed over his defeated opponent.

The trip to Dr. Potter's botanical garden went swimmingly for once, largely due to sterner littering rules and a very stern death threat from Potter himself. He got to show off his entire plant collection, from his own modified strain of Flytraps, to a demonstration of his fast-acting growth formula and managed to wow his audience with his encyclopedic knowledge of all things plant.

The party at the Dance Hall was another one of DJ Phantasmagloria's best works, and the beats of her freshly curated music selection could be heard across the whole hotel, to the annoyance of pretty much everyone. Luckily for the staff, the only opinions of the event that mattered were those of the patrons attending the dance party, so that was good.

The end of the day had Captain Fishook's performance at the Spectral Catch. The patrons cheerfully sang along to the sea shanty of the legendary battle of Fishook vs the King Blooper, enjoying their delicious seafood dinners. Fishook basked in the applause of the patrons, fully understanding why MacFrights loved it so much now.

All in all, the day had gone swimmingly, and they could tell their special guest had enjoyed it immensely. Tomorrow was the day of reckoning.

* * *

Outside the Last Resort, Ghoulanu Graves was inside his freshly repaired limo, watching in excitement as Luigi gave him his autograph.

"He-here you go. One autograph from me, Luigi." Luigi nervously handed over a picture of himself, signed with Ghoulanus name, to the actor, who giddily snatched it up.

"You have no idea how famous you are in the ghost community. Seriously, you're a legend to us. Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me."

"Heh, you're welcome. Make sure to leave a good review for the hotel!"

Luigi waved the man goodbye, watching the limo disappear into the horizon.

"So, how big do you think our chances are?"

Luigi screamed in terror, causing Steward to scream as well. Once their first interaction of the day was done with and both calmed down, Luigi responded.

"Heh, I think you guys have a pretty good chance."

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

"Are you really sure?"

"Uhuh."

"Are you really really sure?"

"Yeah."

"Are you really really really sure?"

"Oh, look at the time! Mario usually likes to come visit my house around this time. Ciao!" Luigi rapidly took out the small box, letting it enlarge so that he could step inside it and head to the professor's lab for pixelation.

Still nervous about their prospects for success, Steward returned to the lobby, where the rest of the staff where huddled around the DJ looking at her phone, waiting for the review to go live.

"Anything up yet, Gloria?"

"Nothing yet."

As they all waited, Serpci nudged Amadeus' shoulder, trying to boast for her queen's chances of victory. "Are you prepared to lose, Wolfgeist? My queen will definitely look forward to seeing you praise her musical talents in front of the entire hotel."

The pianist stared at her as if she had grown a second head. "What are you talking about? We never made a bet. Her horrid music must have made you mishear us."

"Are you really chickening out again? Every time it comes time to choose a victor one of you always chickens out. Ugh, coward." She spat out. They always had a habit of doing this with their bets.

"We can't chicken out of things we never made, babe. That's just science." A notification from her phone caught her attention. "Aha! He just dropped the review. "A wonderful experience all the way through, I can sincerely proclaim that the amenities provided at the Last Resort are some of the best I have ever seen. 10 out of 10 stars, would stay in again."

"Haha! Success." MacFrights as everyone began to celebrate a job well done. "So, now what?" It was over just as quickly as everyone wondered exactly what they would do now.

The answer to that question was answered when one of the phones in the reception began to ring. Grabbing the phone, Steward gave his usual spiel. "Hello, welcome to the Last Resort, you'll enjoy your stay here so much you wish you could die here, how can I help you?... Yes, we do have rooms open… This week, indeed… yes, we'll have your room prepared for your arrival. Have a nice day."

Just as Steward hung up, the phone rang again. Another one began to ring as well, followed by another, and another, and another, until the lobby was flooded by the sound of calling customers. Their plan worked!

Raising his head in triumph, Steward shared the good news. "Everyone, the Last Resort is back in business! Everybody start preparing, we'll be having a busy week!"

* * *

"So, what are you in here for?" King Boo asked his new neighbor, who was sulking in his containment pod.

"I tried to brainwash everyone into my own personal army. You?"

"Same."

"… Wanna hear my cool backstory?"

"… Sure."

* * *

**And so ends the adventure of The Last Resort's Special Guest. What will our favorite hotel staff and up doing next you might ask? **

**Well:**

**The Isle Delfino Vacation Special starts next week Friday! See you all then!**


End file.
